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T H E 

ri(KsitvTKi;i.\\"s 

O F 

BALTIMORE; 

¥&e{iS( dSUlt(Cfi5$ 

AND 

HISTORIC GRAVE-YARDS. 



By J* E. P. BOULDEN, M. D. 

Author of " An American among the Orientals" &c. &c, 



BALTIMORE: 

Printed and Published by Wm. K, Boyle & Son, 

Comer of St. Paul and Baltimore Streets. 

1875- 

ir 




The old "Two Steeple" Church, (ly pi.) 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by J. E. P. BOULDEN, M. D., 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Illustration of the Old " Two Steeple" (First) Church 2 

Preface 5 

General History and Explanation of Presbyterianism 7 

The Primitive Presbyterians of Baltimore 1 1 

Illustration of present First Church structure 15 

History of the First Church 16 

The original Meeting- House of the First Church I 6 

Baltimore in 1 7 63 17 

The first Pastors (Dr Patrick Allison) traits of character 20 

The second Pastors (Rev. fames Inglis) ministry 24 

The Church under Rev. William Ne-vins' ministry 25 

The Church under Rev John C. Backus' ministry 26 

Farewell to the old " Two Steeple" Church 30 

Prominent Members of u Committee,''' from 1764 to present time 33 

The Second Church — The first structure 35 

The first Pastor, Dr John Glendy „ 36 

Second Pastor, Dr. John Breckenridge 41 

Third Pastor, Rev. Robert J. Breckenridge 47 

The recent Pastors c 1 

Illustration of Westminster Church 53 

History of Westminster Church 54 

Westminster Grave-Tar d — Its Historic Dead 57 

'The Mayors of Baltimore 70 

Glendy Grave-Yard — Its Historic Dead 71 

The Brown Family — Alexander, George, George S., &c 86 



j Contents. 

Page. 

The Smith Family — Robert, Gen. Samuel, &c 9 1 

The Sterrets, Gittings, Gilmors, O'Donnelk, &c 97 

The Purvianccs— Robert, Samuel, Judge John, &c 101 

Edgar Allan Poe 104 

The Taylors, Williams and Didiers io 5 

Illustration of Franklin Street Church 108 

History of Franklin Street Church ' I0 9 

The Fifth and Greene Street Churches 111 

The Aisquith Street and Broadway Churches.., IX 3 

The Twelfth Church 114 

The Franklin Square Church 11 ^ 

Illustration of the old Central Church 

History of the Central Church ' 11 7 

Illustration of Brown Memorial Church • ri 9 

History of Brown Memorial Church ■•• 120 

The Associate Reformed Congregation of Baltimore I2 4 

The United Presbyterian Church ■ 1 3 0 

Reformed Presbyterian, or Church of the Co-venanters I 3 I 

Light Street Church *P 

Dolphin Street Church *3 2 

Madison Street {Colored) Church *3 2 

Resignation of Re<v. John C. Backus, D. D., LL. D 133 



HE History of the First and Second Pres- 
byterian Churches of Baltimore, and their 
Grave Yards, Westminster and Glendy, is 
very considerably the History of Baltimore itself, 
for how many, who, in the years that are gone, have 
worshipped at the altars of the former, and how 
many sleep in the soil of the latter, who were 
identified with our City, from its very foundation, 
in its leading religious, benevolent or commercial 
enterprises. 

We venture to assert, with all due respect to 
other creeds and nationalities, that none have been 
more instrumental in building up and advancing the 
trade and commerce of Baltimore ; in promoting 
its general prosperity; in fact, making the City 
what it is, than that sturdy, energetic, and Moral 
Race from the North of Ireland, from Scotland, or 
from Pennsylvania, the disciples of John Knox, 
who settled in Baltimore during the latter half of 
2 




6 



Preface. 



the eighteenth century and the early years of the 
present. 

The monuments of their thrift and enterprise, 
as well as of their religious fervor, are all around 
us. They are visible in our whitening sails of 
commerce; our noble and richly stored magazines; 
our iron tracks that stretch to distant cities; our 
noble church edifices; our benevolent institutions; 
the intelligence and social worth of our people. 

To Presbyterians are all these things largely 
due, and hence we should ever keep green in our 
memories those worthy ancestors to whom we are 
so much indebted for the blessings we enjoy. And 
to keep them thus fresh in our minds, where can 
we better go than into the Kirk yards, where their 
names are inscribed and their epitaphs are written; 
and bring these before the present age, with their 
precious histories, the histories of the noble Pres- 
byterians of the earlier days. 

And we would trace the history of the Mother 
Church, with its First Born, and of their worthy 
Pastors, whose pious zeal, joined with that of the 
Trustees, Elders or Presbyters, have brought Pres- 
byterianism in Baltimore to its present flourishing 
condition. 



iK^of)UC¥of(Y. 



GENERAL HISTORY. 



EXPLANATION OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 

RESBYTERIANS are so called from their 
maintaining that the Government of the 
Church, appointed in the New Testament, 
was by Presbyteries or association of Ministers 
and Ruling Elders, equal in power, office and 
order. Among these office bearers there exists no 
distinction of order or grade, all being by their 
ordination invested with parity of official rank. 
The only distinction among them being that of 
diversity of function; some (usually styled Ruling 
Elders), being ordained to rule ; and others (styled 
Ministers, Pastors, &c.,) being ordained to rule and 
teach; but when officially assembled, these co-equal 
Bishops form only one House (the Presbyterium), 
and in which no layman is admitted to a seat. 
The Deacon, according to Presbyterianism, as the 



8 General History of Presbyterianism. 



Almoner of the Church, is invested with no spiritual 
function, and bears no part in the government of 
the Church. 

In each particular congregation, when fully orga- 
nized, there is usually one Teaching Elder, the 
Minister or Pastor, and several Ruling Elders, 
forming together the Church Session or Parochial 
Presbytery. And these, when officially assembled 
with similar representatives from several neigh- 
boring congregations, form the Presbytery, having 
jurisdiction over the affairs of all the congregations 
thus represented. 

In the same manner the association of several 
contiguous Presbyteries (not less than three) forms 
the Synod, which has jurisdiction over its con- 
stituent Presbyteries and churches. And finally, 
the whole church is represented in the Supreme 
Presbytery, styled the General Assembly. This 
highest court of the Church, however, is not com- 
posed of the whole body of the Presbyters, but of 
delegates chosen by the Presbyteries, styled Com- 
missioners to the General Assembly. 

These Courts of the Presbyterian Church are not 
mere advisory bodies or councils, but each, in its 
sphere is invested with full authority of inspection 



General History of Presbyterianism. p 



and control {Episcope) directly over the court next 
below, and indirectly over all below. By this sys- 
tem the affairs of each particular part of the 
Church are reviewed by the representatives of a 
larger part; errors or abuses arising in one locality 
may be corrected by the assembled Presbyters 
from surrounding regions, and every member of 
the household of faith, even the humblest, is pro- 
tected in his rights; he has assured to him the 
advantages of the " Communion of Saints' — so far 
as may be in the enjoyment of mutual sympathy, 
encouragement, exhortation and admonition, and 
when he conceives himself aggrieved by the action 
of any inferior court, he may appeal to the next 
above, and finally may have his case adjudicated 
by the wisdom, the piety and justice of the assem- 
bled representatives of the whole Church. 

Presbyterianism was established in place of Epis- 
copacy in 1648, but abolished at the Restoration, 
in 1660. Its tenets were embodied in the formu- 
lary of faith said to have been composed by John 
Knox, in 1560, which was approved by the Parlia- 
ment and ratified in 1567, and finally settled by an 
Act of the Scottish Parliament, in 1696; afterwards 
secured by the Treaty of Union with England in 
1707. 



10 



General History of Presbyterianism. 



The first Presbyterian Meeting House in Eng- 
land was established at Wandsworth, Surrey, No- 
vember 20, 1572. 

The earliest organized Presbyterian Congrega- 
tion in the United States was established in Phila- 
delphia, in 1703. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE PRIMITIVE PRESBYTERIANS OF BALTIMORE. 

|HE early history of the Presbyterians of 
| Baltimore is involved in some obscurity. A 
^ ? few families at first met, like the primitive 
Christians, wherever they could find a place to 
worship in. Their formation into regularly consti- 
tuted bodies was a very gradual process. In the 
minutes of the mother Presbytery in this country 
there is a record, under the date of September 21, 
1 715, to this effect: "Mr. James Gordon having 
presented a call from the people of Baltimore 
county to Mr. Hugh Conn, the Presbytery called 
for, considered and approved the said Mr. Conn's 
credentials and made arrangements for his ordi- 
nation." 

In 1740 Mr. Whitfield, (English), founder of the 
Calvinistic Methodists, the most eloquent preacher 
of his day, (born 1 714, died 1770), said he found a 
close opposition from the Presbyterians in Bal- 
timore. 



12 



Primitive Presbyterianism . 



In 1 75 1 Dr. Bellamy, of New England, arrived 
here. About that time there was a most extraordi- 
nary religious revival. Dr. Bellamy was followed 
by Mr. Whittlesey, a Presbyterian minister. Dr. 
Wm. Lyon, and some others who originally founded 
the Church, had then resided here some years. 

In 1760, as is learned from a manuscript in the 
possession pf the Presbyterian Historical Society, 
Donegal Presbytery appointed Mr. John Steel to 
preach one Sabbath in Baltimore. 

In 1 761, Mr. Hector Allison preached here seve- 
ral Sabbaths, and application was made by the 
Presbyterians of Baltimore Town to the Presbytery 
of New Castle county in his behalf, but on their 
sending a commission in that year, it was judged 
that the proposals were so unsatisfactory that it 
was deemed inexpedient to suffer such a call to be 
placed in his hands. At this time the congregation 
was very small, it had no regular place of worship, 
and was unable to support a minister. 

Mr. Allison removed some time after to Williams- 
burg, South Carolina, where he died. We thus see, 
that up to 1 761, the Presbyterians of Baltimore 
were very few, that they had no regular places of 
worship, meeting in upper rooms of private houses, 



Pi ~im itive Presby 'terianism . 



13 



receiving supplies from the nearest presbyteries, 
and earnestly desiring a settled ministry. 

In a history of the congregation, in possession of 
the Presbyterian Historical Society, we find the fol- 
lowing: "In 1 761, the advantageous situation of 
the town of Baltimore induced a few Presbyterian 
families to remove here from Pennsylvania, and 
these, with two or three others of the same persua- 
sion, who had emigrated directly from Europe, 
formed themselves into a religious society, receiv- 
ing outside supplies, assembling in private houses, 
though liable to prosecution on this account, as 
the Province groaned under a. religious establish- 
ment." 

Among the original Presbyterians who settled 
here was Dr. William Lyon, who came from the 
North of Ireland. Among those said to have come 
here from Pennsylvania were Messrs. John Smith 
and William Buchanan, who removed here from 
Carlisle in 1 761 , and were followed the next year 
by Messrs. William Smith and James Sterret, from 
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Soon after them 
came Mark Alexander, John Brown, Benjamin 
Griffith, Robert Purviance and William Spear, from 
different parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland ; Drs. 
3 



*4 



Primitive Prcsbytcrianism. 



John and Henry Stephenson, from Ireland, and Mr. 
Jonathan Plowman, from England. 

In May of 1763, and again in the ensuing August, 
they requested the Presbytery of Philadelphia to 
send Mr. Patrick Allison to preach to them, their 
attention having been directed to him by some 
youths from Baltimore, who were students at New- 
ark Academy, where Mr. Allison was acting as 
tutor. 




First Church. (/8jp.) 



CHAPTER II. 



FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



THE FIRST CHURCH BUILDINGS. 

S late as 1837 there stood in the rear of 
Old Christ Church, on what was then called 
East, now Fayette, street, a log building, 
which was used as a carpenter shop. That rude 
structure was the original meeting-house of the 
First Presbyterian Congregation. The ground 
upon which it stood was leased by them, Decem- 
ber 5th, 1763. 

In March of 1765 the Congregation purchased 
eighty feet at the northwest corner of Fayette and 
North streets, from Alexander Lawson, and, in 
1772, leased of Andrew Buchanan an additional 
adjoining lot. Upon these they erected a plain 
brick meeting-house, thirty-five by forty-five feet. 
There were but thirty-six pews. Subsequently, 
the building was enlarged so as to contain over 
fifty pews. 



First Presbyterian Church. 



17 



In 1 789, it was resolved to erect the edifice as 
it stood up to the time when it was demolished to 
give place to the present elegant structure, the 
United States Court building. 

The old building, which was made ready for 
occupancy in 1 791 , was remarkable for its two 
steeples and the ample portico in front, supported 
by four massive lofty pillars. It was considered, 
at the time of its completion, one of the largest 
and finest church edifices in the United States. 

BALTIMORE IN I 763. 

When Dr. Patrick Allison commenced his min- 
istry in the First Presbyterian Church Baltimore 
contained but thirty houses. The Rev. John C. 
Backus, in the farewell discourse delivered on the 
occasion of the Congregation vacating the "two 
steeple" church, remarks: "From the time when 
Mr. Fleming's farm of sixty acres was laid out by 
legislative grant as a town, until the adoption of 
the Federal Constitution, it did not seem to flourish, 
and that, notwithstanding Braddock's defeat, ren- 
dering the Indians more lawless, had driven many 
of the scattered population of the interior into the 
town for protection, and a considerable body of 



i8 First Presbyterian Church. 

French neutrals had sought refuge here from Nova 

o o 

Scotia, when it was taken bv the British. At the 
commencement of the Revolution, Baltimore was 
still a village of not over 5,000 inhabitants; and 
even at the close of that struggle, notwithstanding 
a spirit of considerable enterprise had been 
aroused, it contained only about 8,000 residents." 

When Dr. Patrick Allison died (in 1802), it had 
become the (then) third city in the Union in magni- 
tude, and the First Presbyterian Church, which 
arose from five or six families, was then one of the 
most flourishing congregations in the land. 

This extraordinary growth and prosperity of the 
church was attributable to the zeal, energy and fos- 
tering care of Dr. Allison and his associates, 
among whom we would name, as being, with him, 
the founders and fathers of the Church, John Ste- 
phenson, John Smith, Wm. Lyon, Wm. Buchanan, 
Wm. Smith, James Sterret, Wm. Spear, Jonathan 
Plowman, Dr. Alexander Stenhouse, John Boyd, 
Samuel Purviance, John Little, Samuel Brown, 
James Calhoun, Robert Purviance, Wm. Neill, 
Hugh Young, John Sterret, David Stewart, Na- 
thaniel Smith, Joseph Donaldson, Robert Gilmor, 
William Patterson, Christopher Johnson, Stephen 



First Presbyterian Church. 



*9 



Wilson, John Swan, Colonel Samuel Smith and 
Dr. Brown. One of this committee, Wm. Smith, 
served as such for half a century, from 1764 to 
1814. 

Before Mr. Allison's death two church edifices 
had been erected, one of them enlarged, a par- 
sonage built, lots for these purchased, and the 
temporalities of the Church had been brought up 
to a most flourishing condition. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE FIRST PASTOR'S TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 

R. ALLISON was a gentleman of distin- 
guished talent and great culture, a friend 
of learning and order, and ever zealous for 
civil and religious liberty. He acquired, during a 
ministry of nearly forty years, a reputation and 
influence second to none other in the community. 
He was rather didactic and argumentative than 
rhetorical. "Coming upon the stage," says Dr. 
Backus, "with the most distinguished lights that 
have adorned the annals of the Church — the 
Tenants, Gillespie, Bostwick, Davies, Blairs, Rogers, 
Ewing, Witherspoon, Nisbet and others — men 
renowned for learning, piety and influence, he 
undoubtedly held the first rank of American clergy. 
For the perspicuity, correctness, sound reasoning 
and masculine eloquence of his speeches in eccle- 
siastical assemblies, he was long admired, and had 
scarcely an equal." 




First Presbyterian Church. 



v 



21 



Dr. Stanhope Smith, President of Princeton Col- 
lege, pronounced Dr. Allison the ablest member of 
the Presbyterian General Assembly. 

He was the moderator of the Baltimore Presbytery 
during the first seven years of its existence; one 
of the founders of the Baltimore College and of 
the Baltimore Library, and united in the earliest 
efforts to establish schools in Baltimore. He died 
August 21, 1802. 

To indicate how highly he was esteemed by not 
only his own congregation, but by the clergy and 
people of all religious persuasions, we mention the 
fact, that his remains were interred, and the monu- 
ment to his memory erected, at the expense of the 
former, and that the ministers of the various de- 
nominations acted as pall-bearers. He was buried 
on the Sabbath. The churches of the city were 
generally closed on the occasion. Dr. Inglis, his 
successor, preached the funeral sermon on the 
ensuing Sabbath. 

THE SECOND PASTORS MINISTRY. 

At an election in December, 1801, Dr. Archibald 
Alexander, subsequently Professor of Didactic The- 
ology in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, 

4 



22 



First Presbyterian Church. 



New Jersey, was chosen as Dr. Allison's assistant, 
but declined the call. In the following February, 
1802, Rev. James Inglis, D. D., was elected pastor 
by a small majority over Dr. Glendy. 

On the election of Dr. Inglis a colony went out 
from the church, and erected the Second Presby- 
terian Church, corner of East Baltimore and Lloycl 
streets, and called Dr. Glendy to the pulpit. 

Dr. Inglis was a graduate of Columbia College, 
New York, and entered the office of Alexander 
Hamilton as a student of law. At the close of 
three years' term of study he was admitted to the 
bar. In the course of a year after he abandoned 
the legal profession and commenced the study of 
theology, under Dr. Rogers, and was licensed by 
the Presbytery of New York in 1801. 

In 1804, the First Presbyterian Church was for 
the first time regularly organized, according to the 
provisions of the form of government of the Pres- 
byterian Church in the United States, by the elec- 
tion of Messrs. Robert Purviance, David Stewart, 
Christopher Johnston, George Salmon and Ebe- 
nezer Finley, as ruling elders. 

In 181 1, the first organ was introduced into the 
church. At that time there were many devout 



First Presbyterian Church. 



23 



Christians who were opposed to instrumental 
church music, believing that it was almost a sacri- 
lege for songs of praise to the Most High to be 
attuned by any artificial means, and when the organ 
was placed in the church it created among some 
members dissatisfaction, and a few left the church 
on that account. 

In 1 81 4, James Mosher, Thomas Finley, David 
Boisseau and Dr. Maxwell McDowell, were or- 
dained elders. 

About 181 5, Mrs. Stephen Williams, a member 
of St. Peter's Church, introduced Sunday Schools 
into Baltimore. The first Sunday School of this 
church was held over the old "First Baltimore" 
Engine House, in McClellan's alley. 

Dr. Inglis died suddenly on Sabbath morning, 
August 15th, 1 819. He was one of the most dis- 
tinguished and popular preachers of his day. "He 
was largely gifted," said the late Jonathan Mere- 
dith, Esq. " with many of the essential elements of 
oratorical power. His voice was full, clear, and 
capable of great variety and modulation. His 
enunciation was deliberate and distinct; his ac- 
tion subdued, but graceful, always appropriate, 
and seemingly unstudied. His whole manner was 



24 



First Presbyterian Church. 



eminently dignified and impressive. He was ac- 
counted a sound theologian ; a good classical 
scholar, and familiar with the best English litera- 
ture." Dr. Dwight spoke of him as the most sig- 
nal instance of precision in style that he had ever 
met; and Dr. Sprague represented him as one of 
the most eloquent preachers to whom he had ever 
listened. 

The temporal affairs of the church during Dr. 
Inglis' ministry were eminently prosperous. 

The following gentlemen of high social position, 
political influence and commercial standing, who 
survived Dr. Inglis, were added to the committee : 
Col. Strieker, George Salmon, James McHenry and 
Amos Williams. 



CHAPTER IV. 




THE CHURCH UNDER DR. NEVIN S MINISTRY. 

fJFTER an interregnum of a year in the 
ministry, the Rev. William Nevins, D. D. was 

S» J 1 i i i • i r i- 

elected as the third pastor oi the congre- 
gation. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, 
October 17, 1797. At an early age he applied 
himself to commercial pursuits, but soon abandoned 
them for a liberal education, and entered Yale 
College, where he became converted. On leaving 
college he entered the Theological Seminary at 
Princeton, and after the regular course of study, 
was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Asso- 
ciation of New London, Connecticut, September, 
1819. 

He labored a short time in Richmond, Virginia, 
and settled in Baltimore, October, 1820. On Sun- 
day, March 7th, 1827, Dr. Nevins preached a ser- 
mon, which was the means of creating a great 
revival in the church. Through its instrumentality 



26 



First Presbyterian Church. 



some two hundred and sixty persons were con- 
verted. Dr. Nevins died September 14th, 1835. 

He possessed a brilliant imagination, a sound 
judgment, a refined taste, warm affections, and an 
ardent temperament. His pulpit labors attracted 
general admiration, and proved highly gratifying 
to an intelligent congregation. 

Mr. Wm. W. Taylor and Col. Mosher were 
the only members of Session, when Dr. Nevins 
was installed. In 1829, Dr. Maxwell McDowell 
was re-elected, in connection with Mr. George 
Morris, from Philadelphia. Mr. Taylor resigned 
the next year, and died soon after. Col. Mosher 
continued to serve as the oldest member of Ses- 
sion, until about 1846. The year prior to Dr. 
Nevins' death, John N. Brown, Wm. L. Gill and 
David Courtenay, were added to the Session. 

THE CHURCH UNDER THE PRESENT PASTOR. 

The Rev. John C. Backus, D. D. was elected 
as Dr. Nevins' successor, nth April, 1836, and 
was installed, September 15, 1836, the Rev. Dr. 
Miller, of Princeton, preaching the installation 
sermon. Dr. Backus has thus served in the 
ministry for about thirty-nine years, and may be 



First Presbyterian Church. 



2 7 



regarded as one of the oldest pastors in the city. 
The present pastor of the First Presbyterian Church 
is so well known in respect to his fervent piety, 
Christian zeal, his long and faithful labors in the 
pulpit, his dignified and urbane manners, and all 
those qualities which win human affections, as well 
as souls to God, as to make it a matter of super- 
rogation for us to dwell upon the theme. 

When Dr. Backus entered the ministry he found 
such distinguished and influential Gentlemen as 
Gen. Samuel Smith, Robert Smith, Robert Gilmor, 
James Buchanan, Alexander Fridge, Alexander 
McDonald, Judges Nisbet and Purviance, George 
Brown, James Swan, James Cox, James Armstrong, 
James Campbell and Robert Purviance, who were, 
or had been members of the committee, all of 
whom have, long since that date, passed into the 
unseen world, 

Gen. Samuel Smith was then the oldest "com- 
mittee man," or trustee of the congregation, having 
been elected in 1786, five years previous to the 
erection of the edifice corner of Fayette and North 
streets. Gen. Samuel Smith, was a brave officer in 
the Revolutionary War; attained the first rank 
among the merchant princes of Baltimore during 



28 



First Presbyterian CJ lurch. 



the most remarkable period of the rise and pro- 
gress of our city; filled the highest political positions 
in city, state and general government. 

Mr. Alexander Fridge, who was elected in 1814, 
came to Baltimore to be identified with the most 
rapid growth of the city and congregation. He 
received a university education at Aberdeen, Scot- 
land, in the same class with Sir James Mcintosh 
and Robert Hall, and was a very successful mer- 
chant. To Mr. George Brown the conoreo-ation 
owes more, than to any one else. He was elected 
in 1825, and served for thirty-five years. He con- 
tributed liberally to the church, and devoted him- 
self almost exclusively to benevolent enterprises. 

Dr. Backus regarded General Smith as the 
venerable representative of the old era; Mr. Fridge 
of the transition period, and Mr. Brown of the 
modern age. It may be appropriately said that 
Dr. Backus stands as the honored link between 
all three of those interesting epochs. Brought into 
personal and religious relations with pre-Revo- 
lutionary church members, with those who may 
be considered as of the middle age of the church 
(in Maryland,) and with the men of the present 
age, he becomes an interesting historic character, 



First Presbyterian Church. 



2 9 



around whom is clustered the glory of the Church's 
history. It is a remarkable fact, that all of the 
deceased pastors of the First Presbyterian Church 
were called to its pulpit in their earliest manhood, 
and continued, uninterruptedly, as its ministers, 
until they were called from their holy vocation only 
by death; and it is to be hoped that great Sum- 
moner alone will dissolve the ministerial connection 
between the present beloved pastor and his devoted 
congregation. Another, remarkable fact is the 
length of time each pastor has served. From 
1763, when Dr. Patrick Allison was elected, to the 
present year, (1875,) including a period of 112 
years, there have been only four pastors, whose 
ministerial service has thus averaged twenty-eight 
years. We doubt whether any other church pre- 
sents such an anomalous history, and it would seem 
that Providence has greatly blessed this by the dis- 
tinguished talent, active piety, and eminent useful- 
ness of its pastors, and such prolongation of their 
valuable lives. During his ministry Dr. Backus 
has seen the Presbyterian Churches of Baltimore 
increase from three to sixteen in number. 



5 



First Presbyterian Church. 



FAREWELL TO THE OLD "TWO STEEPLE CHURCH." 

In October, 1853, the congregation commenced 
to consider the question of removal from the old 
church, around which were clustered so many 
hallowed associations — so many dear memories of 
happy religious re-unions. 

It was resolved to purchase the lot on which the 
elegant Gothic edifice now stands, on the corner of 
Madison and Park streets. Plans for the structure 
were submitted by J. Morrison Harris, as chairman 
of a committee consisting of George Brown, A. 
Stirling, Alex. Murdoch, Joseph Taylor, William 
Buckler, S. Collins, William Harrison, J. Morrison 
Harris, Alex. Turnbull, J. Armstrong, J. I. Fisher, 
and A. Winchester. The ground was broke July, 
1854, — the building being completed in 1859. 

The last Sabbath of September, 1859, was the 
last Sabbath in the old church. The religious ser- 
vices were conducted by Rev. Dr. Backus, assisted 
by Rev. Dr. Smith, of the Second Presbyterian 
Church; Rev. Dr. Dickson, of the Westminster 
Presbyterian Church; Rev. G. D. Purviance, of the 
Fourth Presbyterian, and Rev. Stephen Williams, 
then the oldest Presbyterian minister in Baltimore. 



First Presbyterian Church. 



3 1 



The elders present were — John N. Brown, John 
Falconer, elders in Westminster Church; David 
Courtenay and Lancaster Ould, Franklin Church; 
Moses Hyde, Aisquith Street Church; David Stew- 
art, Annapolis Presbyterian Church; John H. Has- 
kell, of the First Presbyterian Church. These 
assisted the elders of the church in distributing the 
elements. 

The services were opened with singing and 
prayer by Rev. Wm. Purviance. 

The dedicatory ceremonies were held in the new 
chapel, on the first Sabbath in October, 1859; Dr. 
Backus preached the sermon, and Dr. George 
Potts, of the University Place Church, New York, 
assisted in the religious exercises. 

It is unnecessary to describe the present magnifi- 
cent church edifice of the First Presbyterian con- 
gregation, as it stands before the eyes of the whole 
city as a splendid triumph of ecclesiastical architec- 
tural geuius and taste, and a noble evidence of 
Christian liberality, and of the present wealth of 
that congregation, whom we have followed up from 
the time they met in a lowly log-house until their 
occupancy of a church that will vie with the hand- 
somest in America. From a meeting-house, that 



3 2 First Presbyterian Church. 

cost a few English pounds, to one which, when 
fully completed, will cost $220,000, the ground cost- 
ing $30,000 additional. The Rev. Dr. Backus, the 
esteemed pastor of the church, who, as we have 
seen, has been identified with it in that relation for 
nearly forty years, a period of time which has 
covered some of the most important events in the 
history of our city and country, was born in Con- 
necticut in 1 81 1, and is consequently in the 64th 
year of his age. 

To the late George Brown, Mrs. Brown, his 
widow, and George S. Brown, their son, of the old 
banking house of Alexander Brown & Sons, is the 
church largely indebted for the means to complete 
it. They have contributed over $100,000 towards 
the building. The first sale of pews realized about 
$90,000. 

It is somewhat singular, that the present sexton, 
John B. Spence, is serving in the same capacity 
that his father, George W. Spence, and his grand- 
father, John Spence, occupied. 

Present Committee of the^ First Church. — Rev. 
John C. Backus, President; Andrew Reid, Secre- 
tary; Archibald Stirling, Sr., Alexander Murdoch, 
George W. Andrews, George S. Brown, Charles D. 



First Presbyterian Church. 



33 



Findlay, Richard D. Fisher, J. Morrison Harris, 
Hamilton Easter, George Appold, Jas. H. Rieman. 

Of these, Alexander Murdoch was elected a 
member of the committee in 1834; Archibald Stirl- 
ing in 1839; J. Morrison Harris in 1854; Hamilton 
Easter in 1858; George S. Brown in 1859; and 
Andrew Reid in i860. 

Among the prominent members of the commit- 
tee, who have served at different times since the 
organization of the church, we would mention, in 
addition to the above, such representative citizens 
as John Stephenson, (1764); John Smith, (1764); 
William Buchanan, (1764); William Smith, (1764); 
William Spear, (1764); James Sterret, (1764); 
John Boyd, (1765); Samuel Purviance, (1770); 
James Calhoun, (1 771 ) ; David Stewart, (1779); 
Robert Gilmor, (1781); Samuel Smith, (1782); 
Christopher Johnston, (1787); John Swan, (1790); 
J. A. Buchanan, (1796); George Salmon, (1804); 
Stewart Brown, (1807); Colonel Strieker, (1807); 
James McHenry, (1810); Alexander Fridge, (18 14); 
Alexander McDonald, (18 16); Alexander Nisbet, 
(1819); John Purviance, (1822); Jonathan Mere- 
dith, (1822); George Brown, (1825); Francis 
Foreman, (1836); Joseph Taylor, (1843); J. Spear 



34 



First Presbyterian Church. 



Smith, (1844); John Armstrong, (1849); Alexan- 
der Turnbull, (1854); Samuel Mactier, (1859). 

Alexander Murdoch, Esq., one of the oldest 
merchants of Baltimore, he having established the 
mercantile house which he still conducts, some fifty- 
four years ago, is the oldest member of the " com- 
mittee," it being forty-one years since he was 
elected. 



CHAPTER V. 



SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 



THE FIRST STRUCTURE. 

E stated in Chapter II, that on the election 
of the Rev. James Inglis (February, 1803) 
to the ministry of the First Church, by a 
small majority over Rev. Dr. John Glendy, a colony 
went out from the same, and erected a church at 
the corner of East Baltimore and Lloyd streets, 
and called Dr. Glendy to the pulpit. The church 
was erected in 1804. It was a plain, but very 
ample and substantial edifice, fronting about eighty 
feet on Baltimore and some seventy feet on Lloyd 
street. It was devoid of steeples, and there were 
no bells to summon the faithful to worship. It was 
regarded as a very comfortable, and certainly was 
a very commodious church, being capable, with its 
wide galleries, of seating eleven hundred persons. 
The church was fully completed, and the installa- 




j6 Second Presbyterian Churc/i. 



tion services on Dr, Glendy's induction into the 
ministry were held the last of March, 1805. 

THE FIRST PASTOR DR. GLENDY. 

Dr. Glendy was born in Londonderry, Ireland, 
June 24th, 1755. His parents were eminent for 
their piety, and gave their son such an education as 
best fitted him for the holy vocation to which they 
appear to have dedicated him, and in which he 
became so distinguished and useful. After passing 
through the Glasgow University, he entered upon 
the study of theology, and, after pursuing his 
studies for three years, was licensed and ordained. 
His first charge was near Londonderry. He mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Cirswell, of Londonderry, (who 
died in Baltimore shortly after his installation as 
pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church.) 

' When the agitation on the British policy respect- 
ing Ireland commenced in 1798, Dr. Glendy openly 
and earnestly protested against the measures of 
the Government, and became a man marked as 
obnoxious; in consequence of which a purpose was 
formed to arrest his influence by taking his life. 
At the instance of Lord Castlereagh, with whom he 
had been intimate, a troop of horse, commanded 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



37 



by Captain Leith, were sent to surround and set 
fire to his house, and bayonet him in case he 
should attempt to escape. He managed, however, 
to elude his pursuers; but, after a series of won- 
derful hair-breadth escapes, he became weary of 
his perilous adventures, and resolved to surrender 
himself and demand a trial, though he believed it 
would be before a perjured and prejudiced jury. 

He was tried and convicted, but, through the 
influence of his friends, his life was spared, and he 
was condemned to exile. Only a few days were 
allowed him to prepare for his departure, and he 
was compelled to embark in an old, unseaworthy 
vessel, crowded with emigrants, who, with the crew, 
were forced to work almost incessantly to keep her 
afloat. Finally she put into Norfolk, Virginia, in 
distress. By the request of the Captain, Dr. 
Glendy preached in the court-house of Norfolk, in 
behalf of the poor emigrants. There was no 
Presbyterian Church in the place. 

The sermon attracted marked attention. Several 
distinguished lawyers who were present, were so 
impressed with it, that they instituted close inqui- 
ries into the Doctor's history, and extended to him 
and his wife the most hospitable welcome. They 
6 



38 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



were treated with the utmost respect by the lead- 
ing people of the town. This was in 1799. The 
climate not suiting Dr. Glendy's health, he, by 
advice of physicians, went to Staunton, Virginia, 
where, in a short time, he was called to churches of 
Staunton and Bethel, in Augusta County, which he 
supplied for two years. It was at this time that the 
then President of the United States, Thomas Jeffer- 
son, made his acquaintance, and invited him, as his 
guest, to Washington City. During his stay with 
Jefferson he preached at the Capitol, and attracted 
much attention. He was greatly admired by Jeffer- 
son, and it was the prominence given to him by 
these circumstances that led to his being invited to 
Baltimore, to become a candidate for the ministry 
of the First Presbyterian Church. 

Whilst serving in the Second Church Dr. Glendy 
was chosen as chaplain to the House of Represen- 
tatives (in 1805), and as chaplain to the United 
States Senate (in 181 5 and 181 6). 

After serving in the pastorate for nineteen years, 
he, on account of the infirmities of age, (in 1826,) 
assented to the selection of Rev. John Brecken- 
ridge, of Kentucky, as his colleague. After a short 
time he gave up the charge entirely, and removed 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



39 



to Philadelphia, to live with a married daughter, and 
there died, after a protracted and painful illness, 
October 4th, 1832, at the age of seventy-two years. 

His remains were brought to Baltimore, and 
interred by the side of his wife and child, in the 
family vault, about the centre of the Glendy Grave- 
Yard, which was named after him. 

Dr. Glendy was a natural orator, had a lively 
fancy and great command of language. His ideas 
were often bold and strikingly beautiful. He spoke 
with rapidity, clearly enunciating every word, and 
his voice was such that he could be heard great 
distances, even in the open air. He enjoyed such 
a popularity with the various denominations that 
whenever he was announced to preach in their 
pulpits the churches were invariably crowded. 
During his prime, and until age began to enfeeble 
his powers, he filled the large church of which he 
was pastor with the most attentive and respectable 
congregations. 

Dr. Glendy was of medium size, gentlemanly, 
easy, yet dignified in his manners. He was of pale 
complexion, blue eyes, and, like the fine old Revo- 
lutionary gentlemen, he wore short breeches and 
"knee-buckles," and had his hair powdered and 



4 o 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



queued. These, with his erect gait, made him a 
man of marked appearance on the street. In clos- 
ing our sketch of Dr. Glendy it may be remarked 
that the people who gathered under his ministry 
were among the most active and enterprising of the 
early citizens of Baltimore, — those who helped to 
lay the foundations of its commercial prosperity, 
and its various institutions of benevolence, learning 
and religion. These have passed through "the 
dark valley of the shadow of death," but left 
behind them many a noble trace of their virtues 
and their energy. ' 



CHAPTER VI. 



REV. DR. JOHN BRE CKENRID GE, 

SECOND PASTOR OF SECOND CHURCH. 



EV. Dr. John Breckenridge, second son of 
Hon. John Breckenridge, Attorney-General 
of the United States under Thomas Jeffer- 
son, was born at Cabell's Dale, near Lexington, 
Kentucky, July 4th, 1797. His mother was Mary 
Cabell, of Virginia. He was nine years of age 
when his mother died. He prepared for college 
in Kentucky, entered Princeton College, and gra- 
duated with high honor in 181 8, having just attained 
his majority. 

He was designed for the law, but during his resi- 
dence at Princeton resolved to devote himself to 
the Gospel ministry. At that time not one of his 
own family was a professor of religion. 

During 1820 and 1821 he was a tutor in college, 
and, at the same time, he pursued his theological 
studies in the seminary. August 1, 1822, he was 



4 2 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



licensed. In 1822 and 1823 he was chaplain to 
the House of Representatives. May 22, 1823, he 
joined the Presbytery of West Lexington, Ken- 
tucky, and on September 10th of the same year he 
was ordained and installed pastor of the McChord 
Church, Lexington. Here he established a paper 
called the Western Luminary, and made a decided 
and vigorous stand against the opinions and influ- 
ence of Dr. Hally, President of the Transylvania 
University. In 1826, Dr. Breckenridge removed 
to Baltimore, when he was selected, as we have 
already stated, as the colleague of Dr. Glendy. 
He was declared by the Presbytery full pastor on 
31st August, 1829, in which capacity he served until 
July 1 8th, 1 83 1, when he left Baltimore to act as 
Agent and Secretary of the General Assembly's 
Board of Education in Philadelphia. Tracing Dr. 
Breckenridge up to 1838, we find him occupying 
many honorable and distinguished positions as 
pastor and professor in churches, seminaries and 
universities. In 1838 and 1840, he served as 
Secretary and General Agent of the Board of 
Foreign Missions. 

In 1823 he married a daughter of Dr. Miller, of 
Princeton, by whom he had three children. One, 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



43 



Margaret, was among the most devoted attendants 
upon the sick and wounded during the late war. 
Her humane exertions in the hospitals caused her 
death. The second, Polly, married Col. P. B. Por- 
ter, of Black Rock, N. Y., who commanded for a 
season at Federal Hill and Fort McHenry, and 
eventually fell in the dreadful charge at Cold Har- 
bor. The third, Samuel M., the only surviving 
one, is a man of eminence in St. Louis, where, in 
his very youth, he was made Judge. He was one 
of the Committee of Conference between the North 
and South Presbyterians, which met in Baltimore 
the early part of last January. Mr. Breckenridge 
represented the North. 

Dr. Breckenridge's second marriage was to a 
daughter of Colonel Babcock, of Stonington, Conn. 
He died August 4th, 1841, on the spot where he 
was born. The Presbyterian Church has seldom 
had in her ministry a man more entirely conse- 
crated to her service than Dr. John Breckenridge. 
He came to Baltimore with all the ardor and zeal 
of his youth and of his natural energy. It may be 
said of him, without disparaging any other minister 
in Baltimore, that, in real religious labor, no one of 
any denomination excelled him. 



44 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



He generally spoke extemporaneously. There 
was a life, power, sprightliness, and point, in every 
utterance, from the pulpit, in public addresses, or in 
the social circle. He was called upon, on all occa- 
sions, for public addresses, and notwithstanding the 
exactions required by his severe labors in the 
ministry, he gave the same zeal and labor to the 
Bible, Tract, Sabbath School, Mission, Temperance 
and Colonization causes. Such were the demands 
on him that calls were extended to him for ad- 
dresses from many other cities. His work in Bal- 
timore he looked upon as the great work of his 
life, in which he had poured out the strength of 
his constitution, and where God had so eminently 
blessed his labors in the building up of the Second 
Church, and diffusing a vital power and religious 
force into other churches, and the various benevo- 
lent causes. 

It was whilst acting as Secretary of the Board of 
Education and pastor of the Central Presbyterian 
Church of Philadelphia, that Dr. Breckenridge con- 
ducted a controversy with Bishop Hughes on the 
Papacy. This was one of the first discussions 
which had been held on that subject, — one which 
has since provoked so many on the same topic 



Sec on d Presbyteria n CJi urch . 



45 



from other quarters. The following incidents are 
related of Dr. Brecken ridge, which show that he 
had all the fine heroism and fearlessness which 
characterized the Breckenridge family. 

On one occasion, being with some persons who, 
he supposed, were in sympathy with him, and find- 
ing that they were disposed to injure others, as he 
thought, on his own account, he interposed: "Gen- 
tlemen, I beg you to forbear. I feel no ill-will 
to those persons, and have no wrongs to be re- 
venged. I am a Kentuckian, indeed, but I am a 
Christian, too." He was soon undeceived, and 
discovered that he was the object at whom they 
aimed, when, with that flash of his nature, he re- 
joined : "Gentlemen, I beg you to beware. It is 
true, I trust I am a Christian, but you must re- 
member that I also am a Kentuckian!" 

On the occasion of an immense colonization 
meeting being held in New York, under great 
excitement, threats against him were made whilst 
he was addressing the meeting, and he was hissed. 
There was great confusion in the audience; straight- 
ening himself he looked around on the assemblage, 
whilst a slight flush suffused his cheek; with a smile, 
he said: "I am not to be put down by hisses or 

7 



4 6 



Second^ Presbyterian Church. 



threats; I was cradled where the Indian's war-whoop 
yet mingled with the infant's lullaby, and trained by 
a mother whose earliest lessons taught me, next to 
the fear of God, never to be afraid of anybody." 
The audience was electrified, and he finished 
without interruption, except that of enthusiastic 
applause. 

On another occasion, when uttering sentiments 
(on the subject of slavery), and the popular opinion 
of the assembly he was addressing being expressed 
against him, he paused, and then uttered, with 
majestic calmness, these words: "I was born a 
freeman, and, by the grace of God, I mean to live 
and die one." The assembly was hushed to silence, 
and then a thunder of applause overwhelmingly 
indicated their appreciation of a man who would 
avow a freeman's right to speak all his thoughts. 



9 



CHAPTER VII. 



REV. ROBERT J. BRE CKENRID GE, 

THIRD PASTOR OF SECOND CHURCH. 




HE distinguished divine, Robert J. Brecken- 
ridge, brother of John, was born March 8th, 
1800, at Cabell's Dale, Kentucky. After 



due preparation, he graduated at Union College, 
New York, in 1819. He married, March 8th, 1823, 
Miss Preston, of Abingdon, Virginia, sister of Col. 
W. C. and John Preston, who settled in South 
Carolina and Georgia. He had read and practiced 
law prior to his marriage; had also been a consi- 
derable contributor to the press, and had served in 
the Legislature of his native State, where he ranked 
among the ablest members. 

In 1828, he joined the McChord Church in Lex- 
ington. After being ordained an elder, he was sent, 
in 1 83 1, as a delegate to the General Assembly, 
from the Presbytery of West Lexington. 



4 8 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



This year was the beginning of the conflict which 
ended in the division of the Church in 1838. The 
Assembly was composed of able men on both sides 
of the question, but the fathers and leaders of the 
old side were in doubt as to what was the best 
course to pursue. They seemed loath to enter into 
the contest. 

There was a pause in the Assembly when Mr. 
Breckenridge arose and addressed the Moderator. 
He had just left a sick bed, and with great difficulty 
could attend the session. He was an entire stran- 
ger to all the delegates save those from his own 
and the adjoining presbytery. He had uttered but 
a few sentences when he attracted the general 
attention of the body. As he proceeded in his 
eloquent and pathetic strains he drew tears, — not 
those of despair, but of hopefulness for the safety 
of the Church, — from the venerable fathers who sat 
in the Assembly. That speech stamped Mr. Breck- 
enridge as a ready debater and a man of great 
ability. 

He early took a stand against slavery, and in 
favor of colonization. On the 6th of January, 1831, 
he delivered an address before the Colonization 
Society of Kentucky, at Frankfort, which stands 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



49 



among the ablest defences of the anti-slavery cause 
ever published. He was an earnest advocate of 
temperance, and gave himself to every Christian 
work. 

In the Spring of 1832, he determined to enter 
the ministry, and was licensed by the West Lex- 
ington Presbytery, April 5th, 1832. This season 
he removed to Princeton, New Jesrey, where he' 
attended upon the theological lectures of the 
seminary. While here, a call was made upon him 
from the Second Presryterian Church of Baltimore, 
which he accepted, to take effect in the fall. He 
was ordained to the office of the ministry, and 
installed pastor of the Church, November 22nd, 
1832. 

Dr. Breckenridge's ability showed itself in both 
his sermons and his general addresses. He was 
a tower of strength to his brethren, when the 
advocates of pro-slavery sought to deprive the free 
colored people of their rights. Dr. Breckenridge 
will be especially remembered for his open and 
bold discussions and denunciations of the doctrines 
of the Roman Catholic Church, and his earnest ad- 
vocacy of the use of the Bible in the Public Schools. 
Upon the former subject, he delivered a series of 



$o Second Presbyterian Church. 

4 

lectures from the pulpit, which displayed his ex- 
traordinary powers as a controversialist, and his 
uncompromising hostility to what he regarded a 
dangerous system of theology. 

From 1835 to 1843, Dr. Breckenridge was editor 
of a monthly periodical. In 1836 he went to Great 
Britain as a delegate to the General Assembly. He 
travelled extensively on the Continent for the 
benefit of his wife's health. Whilst in Scotland, he 
defended the Americans against the charges of > 
George Thompson, on the subject of slavery. 

In 1845, ne resigned the ministry of the Second 
Church, and accepted the Presidency of the Jeffer- 
son and Canonsburg College, Pennsylvania. In 
1847 ne accepted the call of the First Presbyterian 
Church of Lexington, and in 1853 was appointed 
by the General Assembly, Professor of Theology 
in the Danville Seminary, in which he remained 
until 1869. After this year, on account of his feeble 
and wasting health, he took but little part in active 
life. He died at Danville, Kentucky, on the 27th 
of December, 1871. 

It is unnecessary to dilate upon the character of 
Robert J. Breckenridge. His reputation as a theo- 
logian, public declaimer and able and ready writer 

\ 



Second Presbyterian Church, 



5J- 



was co-extensive with the Union. His was a 
national fame. He stood second to no man on any 
subject which he discussed. He was as profound 
in law, and in the knowledge of all civil and 
national affairs, as in church matters. He was 
truly a great, as well as a good man. 

THE RECENT PASTORS. 

Dr. Breckenridge's successor was Rev. Dr. Lewis 
F. Green. He was a gentleman of great learning, 
but was in the ministry only one year, when he re- 
turned to his native State, Kentucky. Dr. Joseph 
T. Smith succeeded Dr. Green. It was during his 
ministry that the present church edifice was erected. 
The old members of the church had a great vene- 
ration for the first building, and there were many 
who strongly opposed its demolition. It was, as 
we have said, a commodious and comfortable edi- 
fice, and around it were clustered all the hallowed 
associations of the church's early history, and the 
fame of their great preachers, whose characters we 
have done but feeble justice to in our brief biogra- 
phies. Dr. Smith became the pastor of the Central 
Presbyterian Church, corner of Saratoga and Liberty 
streets, which was destroyed in the great fire of 



52 



Second Presbyterian Church. 



25th July, 1873. His congregation is now building 
a fine church on Eutaw Square, the lecture room 
of which (being completed,) they are now worship- 
ing in. 

The Rev, George P. Hays was the next pastor. 
He served during the civil war times. He is now 
the President of the Washington and Jefferson Col- 
lege, Washington County, Pennsylvania. He left 
Baltimore in 1868. He was an enthusiastic and 
popular preacher. 

Dr. Jonathan Edwards, a namesake and relative 
of the distinguished Jonathan Edwards, of Massa- 
chusetts, followed Dr. Hays. He is somewhat 
erratic, and, in many attributes of his character, 
assimilates Dr. Robert J. Breckenridge. He is 
now the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, at 
Peoria, Illinois. 

The present pastor of the church, who succeeded 
Dr. Edwards, is Rev. Dr. R. H. Fulton. Dr. Fulton 
came from the Western Theological Seminary, 
Pennsylvania, and commenced his ministerial labors 
on the first Sabbath in May, of 1872. He has been 
very successful in his so far short ministry, and is 
highly esteemed by the members of the church. 




8 



CHAPTER VIII. 



WESTMINSTER CHUR CH. 



HE plan of erecting the Westminster Church 
was first contemplated in the autumn of 
^ 1850. The matter was brought before the 
Committee of the First Presbyterian Church, which 
had the legal charge of the property, and it was 
agreed that the privilege of erecting such a church 
should be granted. 

Those who associated themselves together for the 
purpose of executing the designs of this agreement 
were: Rev. J. C. Backus, D. D., Joseph Taylor, 
Alexander Murdoch, Archibald Stirling, Daniel 
Holt, W. W. Spence, and W. B. Canfield, of the 
First Presbyterian Church, and Messrs. Matthew 
Clark, John Falconer, Elijah H. Perkins, and John 
Bigham, of the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church, 
with Mr. Aaron Fenton. 

The building was opened for public worship on 
the first Sabbath in July, 1852. 



W istminster Ch urch . 



55 



The church was regularly organized by a com- 
mittee of the Presbytery of Baltimore, on the 16th 
day of July, 1852, by the reception of sixty-one 
communicants from various churches, and the elec- 
tion of John N. Brown and John Falconer as ruling 
elders, who were installed July 28th. 

The first pastor of the church, Rev. William J. 
Hoge, was elected on the 28th day of August, 1852. 
His pastoral relation was dissolved July, 1856, by 
the Presbytery of Baltimore, he having been elected 
a Professor in the Union Theological Seminary of 
Virginia. Dr. Hoge died on the 5th of July, 1864, 
in the 39th year of his age, 

The Rev. Cyrus Dickson, of Wheeling, Va., was 
elected as Dr. Hoge's successor, on the nth of 
August, 1856. He commenced his labors on the 
1 st of November, and was installed on the 26th 
day of November, 1856. His pastoral relations 
with the church were dissolved on the 1st July, 
1870. 

The Rev. Dr. Dickson was succeeded by the 
present pastor, Rev. D. C. Marquis, who was 
installed December, 1870. 

The present officers of Westminster Church are: 

Pastor. — Rev. D. C. Marquis. 



56 



Westminster Church. 



Elders. — John N. Brown, David S. Courtenay, 
Elisha S. Heath, Daniel Holliday, Benjamin White- 
ley, Dr. H. P. C. Wilson, and John L. Reed. 

Deacons. — Aaron Fenton, Matthew B. Clark, 
John H. Cole, James B. Lazear, John Jacob Smith, 
O. F. Day, and Wm. B. Phillips. 

Clerk of Session. — John L. Reed. 

There is no doubt but what Westminster Church 
has been the means of saving the honored and 
historic graves which lie under and around it 
from desecration, and of retaining that hallowed 
spot for the sacred purposes for which it had been 
consecrated. 



CHAPTER IX. 



WESTMINSTER GRAVE-YARD— HISTORIC DEAD. 



" Sunk as in dreams, and lost in anxious thought, 
My footsteps brought me to this lonely spot. 
To whom belongs the field ? this flowery bed ? 
'The dead ' 

" Enter thou in, my soul ; why shouldst thou fear ? 
Naught but sweet buds and flowers are blooming here. 
Whence comes the essence for these sweet perfumes? 
' From tombs.' 

" See here, O man ! where all thy paths must end, 
However varied be the way they wend. 
Listen ! the dead leaves speak ; aye, hear thou must : 
'To dust.' 

" Where are the mighty who take life by storm ? 
Who e'en to Heaven's height wild wishes form. 
What croak the ravens on yon moss-grown wall ? 
' Buried all.' 

"The evening wind amid the trees is sighing; 
Fettered in dreams, my saddened soul is lying ; 
The twilight falls, the red glow paleth fast — 
' 'Tis past.' " 



|N 1801, the burial-place of the "Two Steeple 
Church" on Fayette street, laid round about 
the edifice. The bluffs which rose up to the 
side of the old St. Paul's Church, corner Charles 




Westminster Grave- Yard. 



and Saratoga streets, continued, in an unbroken 
ridge, to the rear of the Presbyterian grave- 
yard and church; and a branch of Jones' Falls 
flowed to within a square or so, (to the rear,) of 
the church. In 1 798 it was declared expedient to 
reduce the ground around the church, which had 
long been used for burial purposes, and in 1800 an 
agreement was made with reference to opening 
North lane, which extended from East (Fayette) 
to Market (Baltimore) street. 

In 1785 the first steps were taken to secure the 
burial ground on the corner of Fayette and Greene 
streets, which at that time extended to Baltimore 
street. In 1787 the purchase was made by the 
committee who had been appointed for that pur- 
pose, consisting of Wm. Patterson, John Boyd, and 
Wm. Smith, and the same year the lot was enclosed. 
Subsequent sales from time to time reduced the lot 
to its present dimensions. 

A feeling of veneration takes possession of one 
when he steps into that little grave-yard, corner of 
Greene and Fayette streets. We say little, because 
it is small in dimensions, but great and grand in the 
character of the memorable dead who sleep within 
its portals. And these dead carry us back nearly a 



If T estminster Grave- J r ard. 



59 



century ago, — a century big with the most stu- 
pendous events in this "New World's history," — 
during which a nation has been born, thrice carried 
through the baptism of blood, and now stands the 
acknowledged peer of the greatest dominions of 
the earth. And these men who there repose, and 
these women too, — for many a Spartan mother, 
slumbering in the old Westminster Grave-Yard, 
buckled the swords on the loins of their valiant 
sons and husbands, and bid them, "to do and die 
for freedom's cause," — these honored people were 
the actors in those stirring scenes, midst which the 
nation struggled, bled, and yet lived on. 

THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD. 

We will mention a few names, as an illustration 
of the character of Westminster's dead. We have 
already referred to the brave Gen. Samuel Smith, 
who fought in the Revolutionary War, and after the 
declaration of peace occupied many public posi- 
tions; Secretary of the Navy, United States' Sena- 
tor, Member of Congress, Mayor of Baltimore, &c. 
General Smith was born in 1752, and died in 1839. 
He is buried here. So, also, are General John 
Strieker, commander of Third Brigade at the battle 



6o 



W °stmi aster Grave- 1 T ard. 



of North Point; General David Poe, an officer of 
the Revolution, grand-father of Edgar Allan Poe, — 
he acted as Quarter-Master throughout the War. 
Mr. Poe, after the war, settled down as a Baltimore 
merchant, Robert Smith, of the Revolutionary 
Army, Attorney-General under Jefferson, Secretary 
of the Navy under same, and Secretary of State 
under Madison. — Mr. Samuel W. Smith, Park 
street, is a nephew of this distinguished patriot and 
statesman. Joseph Smith, Captain in the Revolu- 
tionary Army. Nathaniel Morton, a prominent 
merchant, and his son, George C. Morton, the 
latter many years French Consul in Baltimore; — 
David Stewart, prominent shipping merchant, — 
he was grand-father of the late David Stewart, 
a distinguished lawyer, and great-grand-father of 
John Stewart and C. Morton Stewart — the for- 
mer a prominent lawyer, and the latter a lead- 
ing merchant. F. Folger, a sea-captain, who 
did good service as a commander of a privateer 
out of the port of Baltimore, during the war. 
Captain David Porter, to whom the merchants of 
Baltimore are indebted for the establishment of the 
flag telegraph on Federal Hill, by which all vessels 
bearing a registered signal could be heralded forty 



Westminster Grave- Yard. 



61 



miles distant from our harbor. Captain Porter was 
the father of the gallant Commodore David Porter, 
who attained such fame as the commander of the 
Frigate Essex during the war of ;8i2, and the 
grand-father of David D. Porter, the present Admi- 
ral of the American Navy. Commodore David 
Porter erected in "Westminster" a substantial 
obelisk to the memory of his oldest sister, Ann 
Porter Boulden, widow of Alexander Smith Boul- 
den. Col. Nathaniel Ramsay, who performed dis- 
tinguished service at the battle of Monmouth; 
James McHenry, Secretary of War under Wash- 
ington; David Plunket, a Revolutionary officer, and 
captain of the first troop of horse ever raised in 
Baltimore; Plunket was the elder brother of Lord 
Plunket, Chancellor of Ireland. David Harris, 
officer in the Revolutionary war; Paul Bentalou, 
colonel in Pulaski's corps; Henry Didier, a native 
of France, who came to America in his own ves- 
sel, — grand-father of Eugene L. and Henry A. 
Didier; Isaac Causten, a patriot of the Revolution; 
Col. David Harris, one of the Old Defenders of 
1812, who died in 1844, seventy-four years of age. 

Among the distinguished civilians we name — 
James Calhoun, the first Mayor of Baltimore; John 
9 



62 



Westminster Grave- } r ard. 



Smith Hollins, who died May 27, 1869, Mayor of 
Baltimore; Edward Johnson, Mayor of Baltimore; 
the three eminent divines of the First Church, to 
whom we have already referred, — Rev. Patrick Alli- 
son, the founder of the church, who served in the 
ministry from 1763 until 1802; James Inglis, (father 
of Judge Inglis, of the Orphans' Court,) who served 
from 1802 to 1819; Wm. Nevins, who served from 
1820 to 1835. Robert Purviance, son of Joseph 
Purviance; James Buchanan, of Smith & Buchanan; 
Charles Torrance, a distinguished merchant; John 
Martin, father of the venerable Dr. Samuel D. Mar- 
tin, now in the 90th year of his age; Wm. Buchanan, 
father of James A. Buchanan; Dr. Robert Lyon, a 
rigid Scotchman, and who took an active part in the 
establishment of the church; Alexander Gallagher, 
father of Captain Gallagher, of the United States' 
Navy; Christopher Johnston, grand-father of Prof. 
Christopher Johnston; John Swan, son of James 
Swan; John O'Donnell, father of Columbus O'Don- 
nell, and who came to Baltimore, a nabob from the 
East Indies; Captain Wm. Bryclen, a sea-captain, 
well known in his day; John Sterret, grand-father 
of John S. Gittings; Wm. Patterson, father of Eliza- 
beth (Patterson) Bonaparte; James H. McCulloh, 



Westminster Grave- Yard. 



63 



father of Dr. McCulloh, long time Collector of the 
Port of Baltimore; James Stirling, father of Archi- 
bald Stirling, Sr., President of Gay Street Savings 
Bank, and grand-father of Archibald Stirling, Jr., 
United States' District Attorney. — Mr. James Stirl- 
ing came to Baltimore before the Revolution, and 
served in a troop of horse raised by Capt. Moore; 
George Salmon, President of the Bank of Balti- 
more; James Angel, editor of a paper, (Goddard & 
Angel,) married a sister of Commodore Barney; 
George Poe, native of Ireland, came here before the 
Revolution, grand-father of Neilson Poe; Stewart 
Brown, father of J. Harman Brown and John N. 
Brown, both of whom have long been zealous and 
faithful officers of the Presbyterian Church; John 
McDonogh, father of the New Orleans McDonogh; 
Robert Gilmor, grand-father of Judge Gilmor; Dr. 
Maxwell McDowell, one of the early elders of the 
church; Alexander Fridge; Cumberland Dugan, 
who built Dugan's wharf and established a famous 
rope-walk, — he was a native of Coleraine, County 
of Londonderry, Ireland, resided sixty-seven years 
in Baltimore, and died in 1836, in the ninetieth year 
of his age. Prior to coming to Baltimore, Mr. 
Dugan settled in Roxbury, Mass., where he married 



6^ Westminster Grave-Yard. 

a Miss May. He was a gentleman of ample for- 
tune, and brouo-ht to Baltimore Henry Pavson and 
Joseph Williams. Henry Payson was head of the 
ereat commercial house of Henry Payson & Co. 

o J J 

John McKim, father of John McKim, Mrs. Duncan, 
Mrs. General Wm. H. Marriott, and Mrs. Handy; 
John Kennedy, father of John P. Kennedy; Natha- 
niel Andrews, father of George W. Andrews, the 
druggist; Wm. Buckler, father of Dr. John Buck- 
ler; Philip Barton Key, who met such a tragic death 
in Washington. 

The following inscription on a monument, to the 
memory of Dr. John Crawford, shows that he 
must have been a man of considerable note in 
his day: 

"To the memory of John Crawford, born in Ire- 
land, 3d May, 1 716; died 9th May, 181 3. Received 
decree of M. D. from Faculty of Leyden. Seryed 
as Surgeon-in-Chief, in the employment of the 
British Government, in both the Indies. Was, for 
many years, Physician-General to the Dutch colony 
of Demerara. A member of the Medico-Chirurgi- 
cal Faculty of Maryland; and, for thirteen years 
Grand Master of Masons in Maryland. His Ma- 
sonic brethren of Maryland erected this monument 



Westminster Grave- Yard. 



65 



to his memory, as a token of their respect and 
eternal regard." 

The following members of the McClellan family 
are buried in Westminster: David and John Mc- 
Clellan, brothers. Col. David McClellan married 
Janet Buchanan; their son, William, fell at North 
Point. Capt. John McClellan, of the 9th Maryland 
Regiment, — he served during the last years of the 
Revolution. McClellan's alley derives its name 
from him. Col. Samuel McClellan, (nephew of 
John and David,) built a massive vault, now under 
the church. He was one of the party who defended 
the office of the Federal Republican in 1812. He 
was with Sterret's Hussars at North Point, held 
several important positions under the City and 
State Governments, and was Naval Agent at Balti- 
more under Harrison and Tyler; he died in 1858. 
His son, Wm. W. McClellan, (still living,) erected 
the elegant improvements corner of Post Office 
avenue and Second street. 

Jacob Wagner, Editor of the Federal Republican, 
(established in 1807,) is buried in the McClellan 
vault. Mr. Wagner was Assistant Secretary of 
State during President Madison's Administration. 
Christopher Raborg, an influential and wealthy 



66 



Westminster Grave- Yard. 



merchant of Baltimore, who settled here in 1775, 
is buried in the same vault. 

But it would be impossible for us, within any 
reasonable space, to name all the distinguished 
dead of the Westminster grave-yard. We have 
referred to sufficient to show that therein lie the 
worthy ancestors of many of our most respectable 
citizens — names that will call up many a dear and 
tender emotion in the hearts of their posterity- — 
and which are especially dear in the memory of 
Presbyterians, as being those of the founders and 
early members of the church in Baltimore. Not- 
withstanding the smallness of the grave-yard, and 
the long time it has been used for burial purposes, 
interments are yet occasionally made therein, the 
last one being that of the late Robert Gilmor, 
father of Judge and Harry Gilmor, who was buried 
there on the 3d of last February. 

The massive granite vaults of Westminster are 
in keeping with the substantial character of the 
early Presbyterians, whose remains they enclose. 
Small as the grave-yard is, it contains some forty 
large vaults, built so strong and solid as to defy the 
ravages of centuries. 



J I estniinster Grave- J r ard. 



6? 



The vault of James Calhoun, the first Mayor of 
Baltimore, is constructed of huge granite blocks, 
and is a perfect pyramid, built in imitation of the 
tomb of Caius Cestius, which is near the Porto 
St. Paola, where it forms a part of the wall of 
Rome. 

The tomb of Calhoun is of more enduring mate- 
rial than that of Caius Cestius, the latter being 
built of brick, cased over with white marble. 

There are other vaults near Calhoun's, which, in 
their massiveness and solidity, remind us of the 
famous tombs, that, 

"With two thousand years of ivy grown," 

skirt the Via Appia, out of Rome. 

The following families were the owners of large 
vaults in Westminster: The Strickers; Torrances; 
Pannells; Smiths, (Samuel, who died 1784; John, 
died 1794; General Samuel, died 1839;) Hollins, 
(John Smith;) Dugans; Robinsons; Pearsons; 
Browns, (Stewart;) Merediths, (Jonathan;)* Von 
Kapffs; Barrs; Taylors; Boggs; Ramsays; Finleys; 
O'Donnells; McClellans; Williams; Youngs; Da- 



* The late Jonathan Meredith, who was so eminently distinguished in the legal 
profession, and was, for many years, a prominent member of the First Church, died in 
1872, in the 88th year of his age, 



68 



II r estminster Grave- J \rd. 



vies; Bucklers; Andrews; Mortons; McDowells; 
Stewarts; Grahams; Barklies; Fridges; Kelsos; 
Watsons. 

The congregation of Westminster pass over the 
following slabs on their way into the church, the 
tablets being inserted in the front pavement: — That 
of William Cochran, who died in 1818; he was a 
native of Ireland, and engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits; his wife died 1821. Alexander Hazlit, died 
1802. Thomas Ramsey, a native of Londonderry, 
Ireland, died 1798; Elizabeth, his wife, who was a 
daughter of Michael and Jane Erskine — she died in 
1826; Elizabeth Ramsey, daughter of Thomas and 
Elizabeth Erskine Ramsey, died 1850; Jane and 
Arabella Ramsey. Mrs. Hayes, wife of Francis 
Hayes, merchant, of Philadelphia, died 1804. Mrs. 
Jane Jackson, wife of Hugh Jackson, merchant, of 
Philadelphia. Rose Ross, wife of James Ross, mer- 
chant, died 1803, also his daughter. 

Robert , who sleeps under the church, accom- 
panied us beneath the same, where we were com- 
pelled to stoop to keep the upper part of our 
caputs from being scraped off by the low ceiling. 
We followed him into the most mysterious nooks, 
in search of historic graves, and there were tombs 



Westminster Grave- J r ard. 



69 



brushed off that day to decipher old inscriptions, 
upon which the dust and rubbish of nearly a quar- 
ter of a century had accumulated. (It will be 
remembered the church was built in 1852.) Yet, 
in that old, cob-webby, dusty, dark, dank, and 
sepulchral place, Robert sleeps as quietly and un- 
concerned as though he were occupying the most 
cheerful apartment. If Robert were a Spiritualist, 
believing in the doctrine that the disembodied souls 
of humanity hover around their earthly tabernacles, 
he would have an exceedingly exhilarating time in 
holding communion with them. But Robert takes 
good care of the grounds, is attentive to visitors, 
and, as he receives no compensation, save what 
they voluntarily give him for showing them through 
the grave-yard, they should be reasonably liberal to 
him. 

A PETRIFIED BODY. 

A singular case of petrifaction has occurred in 
this grave-yard. A certain vault was opened 
recently for the first time in fifty years, and the 
body of a man was found therein completely turned 
to stone. There are but few instances of such 
phenomenal change in the human tissue. 
10 



7° 



W tstminster Grave- i r ard. 



A petrified body was exhumed from the excava- 
tions of Pompeii, and is in the celebrated Museum 
of Naples, which contains the rare collection of 
objects of interest and of art disemboweled from 
the lava, ashes and earth, in which Pompeii and 
Herculanaeum were entombed eighteen centuries 
ago. 

MAYORS OF BALTIMORE. 

As so many of the Executives of Baltimore are 
buried in Westminster and Glendy, we append a 
list of all the Mayors from James Calhoun clown to 
the present incumbent. 

1797— James Calhoun. 1836 — Sam'l Smith, re-elected. 

j 805 — Thorowgood Smith. 1838 — Shepard C. Leakin. 

1808 — Edward Johnson. 1840— Samuel Brady. 

181 7— George Stiles 1842 — Solomon Hillen, Jr. 

1819 — Edward Johnson, elected 1844 — James O. Law. 
for the unexpired term of 1846 — Jacob G. Davies. 
George Stiles, deceased. 1848 — Elijah Stansbury. 

1820 — John Montgomery. 1852 — J. H. T. Jerome. 
1823— Edward Johnson. 1854 — J. Smith Hollins. 
I825 — John Montgomery. 1856 — Samuel Hinks. 
1828 — Jacob Small. 1858 — Thomas Swann. 

1 83 1 — William Stewart. i860 — George Wm. Brown. 

1833 — Jesse Hunt. 1862— John Lee Chapman. 

1835 — Samuel Smith, to serve 1868 — Robert T. Banks. 

in place of Jesse Hunt, 1870 — Joshua Vansant. 

resigned. 1874— Joshua Vansant. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE GLEMDY GRAVE-YARD— HISTORIC DEAD 



" So live that when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan that moves 
To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of Death, 
Thou go not like the quarry slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon but sustain'd and sooth'd 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." Bryant. 

HE Grave-Yard of the Second Presbyterian 
Church lies at the head of Broadway, front- 
ing on Gay street (Belair avenue,) the 
south-west corner of the grounds projecting out to 
the curbstone on Chase street. 

It contains about three acres, and was bought 
from Robert Barry, an auctioneer, in 1807, for the 
sum of $1,051. When bought, this property was 
considered an immense distance from the city, which 
now extends for a mile or so beyond it on Belair 



72 



The Glenciy Grave- J r ard. 



avenue. Its distance from the heart of the city in 
1807, the substantial wall with which it was enclosed, 
the extent of land it covered, and the massive and 
capacious vaults built in it, indicate that the congre- 
gation of the Second Church were far in advance 
of their cotemporaries in the matter of providing 
for their dead brethren. Whilst other congrega- 
tions were yet content with having their burying 
places around their churches, this one displayed a 
wisdom and foresight of the future growth and 
expansion of the city, which was quite remarkable 
for those early days. It would almost seem that 
the keen business knowledge possessed by those 
men, who so largely built up the trade and com- 
merce of Baltimore, gave them that prescience of 
the city's future extent, which their own enterprise 
and energy assured. 

For many years prior to 1873 this historic old 
grave-yard was exposed, by reason of the dilapi- 
dated condition of its eastern wall, to every species 
of vandalic depredation and outrageous desecration. 
The place was ruthlessly marauded upon by night 
and by day, by the lowest elements of society. It 
was the battening place of all manner of evil — the 
resort of thieves and vagabonds. There, among, 



The Glendy Grave- Yard. 



73 



and even within those tombs, where rested the gen- 
erations that have gone — an honored line; graves 
which should ever have been held sacred against 
sacrilegious touch, where many a mourner has wept 
and had his heart filled with an untold grief as he 
looked, for the last time, upon the casket that 
enclosed a dear friend or relative — crime held nig-h 
carnival, and rough men and boys preyed almost 
literally upon dead men's bones — unsealed their 
vaults, broke down their tombs, stole from the 
former their metallic doors and locks, and the 
silver plates upon which their tender affection had 
inscribed the names of the precious, yet thus out- 
raged, dead. 

These acts were materially stopped by Colonel 
George P. Kane rebuilding the destroyed portion 
of the wall at his own expense. 

Though it is still possible to effect an entrance by 
scaling the eastern wall, yet it interposes a serious 
obstacle to the quick egress (in case of detection) 
of the intruders upon the sacred domain. 

THE DISTINGUISHED DEAD. 

The first vault to the left of the main entrance is 
that in which lie the remains of General William 



74 



The Glendy Graue-Yard. 



McDonald and his son Samuel, — of die old and 
eminent commercial firm of McDonald & Son, on 
Bowly's wharf. General McDonald figured in die 
war of 1 8 1 2, and in die "piping times of peace," 
through his energy and enterprise, accumulated a 
very large fortune. One of his first, most import- 
ant enterprises, was the establishment of a line of 
packets to Frenchtown, which ultimately became 
merged into the steamboat line, in which the firm 
retained heavy interests, until the last named line 
was absorbed by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and 
Baltimore Railroad Company. 

General McDonald was the father of the late 
William McDonald, whose magnificent estate, lying 
between the York road and Charles street avenue, 
recently purchased by Mr. A. S. Abell, is well 
known to Baltimoreans. Mr. McDonald was an 
early and zealous member of the Second Presbyte- 
rian Church, and was one of its most efficient 
officers for many years. He was very benevolent 
in his church Pfifts, and he and his son Samuel 
left $5,000 each to the church at their deaths. He 
was a native of Scotland. 

Not far from the McDonald vault is that of the 
distinguished banker, Alexander Brown, founder of 



The Glendy Grave- } r ard. 



75 



the celebrated banking house of Alexander Brown 
& Sons, father of the late George Brown, and 
grand-father of the present George S. Brown. Mr. 
Alexander Brown and wife, and Mr. George Mc- 
Lanahan and wife — the latter grand-parents of Mr. 
George S. Brown on the maternal side — were all 
buried in " Glendy," but subsequently were re- 
moved to Green Mount Cemetery. 

The country-seat of the Browns, which the "old 
folks" occupied in the summer season, lies a short 
distance to the north-east of the grave-yard. The 
old mansion is still standing, but when Broadway is 
extended it will pass over the spot it occupies. 

William Crawford, one of the most prominent 
merchants of his day, is buried here. He was a 
heavy grocery merchant on Bowly's wharf. On the 
occasion of General Jackson removing the deposits 
from the United States Bank he was one of the 
committee who went to the President to remon- 
strate against that measure. As Mr. Crawford was 
not only a "wool-dyed" democrat, but also a staunch 
personal friend of Jackson's, and as the delegation 
was composed almost entirely of Whigs, "Old 
Hickory" (characteristically) remarked to him, that 
"he was in very bad company." 



7 6 



The Glendy Grave-Yard. 



We continue our enumeration of the prominent 
persons buried in "Glendy:" Robert Moore, a mer- 
chant; he was a native of Londonderry, Ireland. 
His entertainment and practice of those republican 
principles which animated the American patriots 
during our Revolution, entailed upon him the 
enmity of British tyranny. The strong arm of 
oppression forced him, in 1798, in the decline of 
life, at a few hours notice, after a close imprison- 
ment of five months, and without a trial, from his 
wife, children and native country. He died in June, 
1807, in the 55th year of his age. His son, Robert 
Scott Moore, was a lieutenant in the Independent 
Artillerists, stationed at Fort McHenry, during the 
bombardment of that Fortress by the British fleet 
in the war of 181 2. He died in 181 7. James 
Beatty, who was famous for his extensive powder 
works — one of his daughters married Commodore 
Purviance. Henry Anderson, father of General 
Anderson, the present Collector of Taxes for the 
City of Baltimore. He came to America in the 
same vessel with Dr. Glendy. John Bryson, grand- 
father of Gilbert H. Bryson, civil engineer. Capt. 
Thorndike Chase, a sea-captain, and owner of 
Chase's wharf. Archer George, father of the late 



The Glendy Grave- Yard. 



77 



Samuel K., who lived on Mount Vernon Place. 
John Hollins, father of John Smith Hollins, ex- 
Mayor, Robert Smith Hollins, of the Northern Cen- 
tral Railway, and Commodore Hollins, who was for- 
merly of the United States' Navy, served in the 
Confederacy during the war, and is now attached to 
Judge George Wm. Brown's Court. Robert How- 
ard, who was proprietor of a large iron furnace at 
Stemmer's Run, merchant, &c. James Law, father 
of ex-Mayor Colonel James O. Law. Thomas Mc- 
Elderry, father of Hugh McElderry, owner of Mc- 
Elderry's wharf; also father of Mrs. George M. 
Gill and Rev. Mrs. Hamner. Collin Mackenzie, 
father of Dr. John Mackenzie. James McNeal, 
father of James McNeal, Jr., Secretary of Green 
Mount Cemetery. John Ogston, one of the founders 
of Swedenborgianism in Baltimore. James Ram- 
say, merchant, and owner of Ramsay's wharf. Geo. 
Stiles, fourth Mayor of Baltimore, (in 1 8 1 7.) W. 
and S. Swan, prominent merchants. Captain Joel 
Vickers, father of George R. Vickers and Albert B. 
Vickers, the latter President of the Marine Bank of 
Baltimore. William Hays, father-in-law of St. Geo. 
W. Teackle. George W. Miller, who served under 
Major Armistead, at Fort McHenry, during the 
1 1 



j8 The Glendy Grave-Yard. 

bombardment, and who died in 1836, in his 59th 
year. John Jephenson, native of Mallow, County- 
Cork, Ireland; he died on the 7th October, 18 14, at 
the age of 47 years, from a wound received at the 
battle of North Point. Captain John Kennedy, a 
native of Ireland, who emigrated to this country in 
early manhood; he was commander of the second 
company, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Maryland Mi- 
litia, at the battle of North Point, and for his gallant 
and soldierly conduct he received the approbation 
of his superior officers. Oliver H. Nelson, an old 
Defender, who died June 21st, 1821; his monument 

m 

was erected by the Independent Volunteers to their 
"estimable commander, as a testimony of their 
regard for his virtues." John M. Kane, father of 
Colonel George P. Kane, born in Londonderry, 
Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1798; he 
commanded one of the companies in the famous 
Twenty-seventh Regiment at the battle of North 
Point; of no members composing that company 
there is but one survivor, Christopher Wynn, a 
member of the Old Defenders' Association. The 
■company commanded by Captain Kane was known 
before the war as the "Union Greens." The Cap- 
tain died in 1822; John K. Kane, brother of Col. 



The Glendy Grave- Yard. 



19 



George P. Kane, a prominent merchant, died in 
1 841. James Sloan, father of Mrs. John Buckler. 
Henry Payson, merchant. Dr. John Campbell 
Whyte, father of Joseph, Henry and John Whyte, 
and grand-father of William Pinkney Whyte and 
Judge Campbell Whyte Pinkney. Capt. Archibald 
Kerr, a prominent sea-captain, and owner of 
Kerr's wharf. John Gregg, eldest of the Tan- 
nery family. Capt. Baptist Messick, a sea-captain, 
owner of Messick's wharf. Patrick Dinsmore, of 
the old firm of Dinsmore & Kyle. Captain James 
Gibson, sea-captain, and owner of Gibson's wharf. 
John Cross, born in Clones, Ireland, was a soldier 
in our Revolutionary war, died 1807, aged 77. 
Three of his sons, John, Andrew and Wm. Stuart 
Cross, were soldiers in the war of 181 2. A. C. 
Trippe is a grand-son of Andrew r Cross. Rev. 
Andrew B. Cross is a son of Wm. Stuart Cross. 
Sir Richard Lyttleton Reynell, Baronet; Sir Richard 
was the fifth baronet, lineally descended from Sir 
Richard Reynell, Knight and Baronet of East 
Ogwell, in the County of Devon, Lord Chief Jus- 
tice of the King's Bench in Ireland, in the reign of 
Charles the Second, King of England; which Sir 
Richard was descended, in a direct line, from Sir 



80 The Glendy Grave- Yard. 

Richard Reynell, Knight and Keeper of the Castles 
of Lanceston and Exeter, 1141. Sir Richard Lyt- 
tleton Reynell lived many years in Baltimore, and 
died September 4, 1829, in the 57th year of his age. 
His wife is buried in the same tomb with him. 
Jehu Bouldin, a famous surveyor in his day, and 
who laid out the present boundaries of Baltimore; 
he died May 5, 1830. Alexander J. Bouldin, who 
died in 1855, aged 56 years, a prominent surveyor. 
Thomas Cole, a sea-captain, father-in-law of the 
venerable Samuel D. Martin, the oldest living physi- 
cian in Baltimore. Captain Russell Kilbourne, sea- 
captain. Captains George Hobson, T. Gardner, 
George F. de Laroche, David Burke, Willian Conk- 
ling, all sea-captains. Doctors William H. and 
Alexander Clendenin. David Clendenin, member 
of Congress from Ohio, married the widow of 
David Edgar, father of John M. Edgar, a member 
of the Baltimore Bar. John Coulter, J. B. Stans- 
berry, and Andrew Aitken. Capt. Herman Perry, 
father of Herman and Albert Perry, both of whom 
were a long time connected in intimate and confi- 
dential business relations with the banking house of 
Alexander Brown & Sons. The last, but by no 
means the least, in the list of the honored dead of 



The Glendy Grave- Yard. 



81 



Glendy whom we will name, is George Dobbin, who 
was born June ioth, 1774, and died December 3d, 
181 1. Mr. Dobbin was one of the founders of the 
Baltimore American, and father of Robert A. Dob- 
bin, one of the late proprietors of the American, 
of whom the present proprietor purchased. Geo. 
Dobbin was also the father of Hon. George Dob- 
bin, Judge of the Superior Court. Thomas Dob- 
bin, a printer, at 36 Baltimore street, in 1800, was 
an elder brother of George Dobbin. He was born 
January 17th, 1772, and died February nth, 1808. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE GLENDY GRAVE-YARD— CONTINUED. 



THIS HONORED DEATH-ROLL 

HOWS that in old Glendy are buried not only 
those " merchant princes;" those men who 
risked their capital, and bent all their ener- 
gies, in establishing and building up the trade and 
commerce of Baltimore, but of those hardy mari- 
ners, who commanded the gallant crafts which 
wafted the articles of trade to and from foreign 
ports, over many a stormy sea; themselves, in 
many instances, the owners of the vessels, and the 
owners of the wharves, which, bearing their names, 
will perpetuate them as among the chief foun- 
ders of Baltimore commerce with the great marts 
of the world. 

And then, as will be noticed, is Glendy conspicu- 
ously the burial-place of the Defenders of Baltimore 




The Glendy Grave-Yard. 



in 1 814 — of the members of that gallant band that 
is fast passing away , whose last survivor's death 
must, "in the very course of nature," ere long be 
chronicled, and then these graves, as well as those 
of all that veteran host, will possess even a greater 
historic interest than now. With the remains of 
such as these, and of the many others whom we 
have named, who, in their "day and generation," 
filled honorable stations in public and private life, 
and who have left behind them the "noble scions of 
a noble stock," how interesting becomes the ques- 
tion as to what will be the fate of this grave-yard, 
and its graves, in case of 

THE EXTENSION OF BROADWAY. 

The subject of the extension of the above wide 
avenue, which is improved right up to the southern 
wall of the grave-yard, has been agitated for some 
time. Following its natural course, Broadway 
would obliterate more than one-third of the ceme- 
tery, its western boundary striking through the main 
entrance, and taking a diagonal course through the 
grounds, would lop off a triangle, whose rectangle 
lies to the south-east. Broadway would involve the 
whole of this portion of the grounds; in other 



8 4 



The Glendy Grave- Yard. 



words, there would be no portion of them left on 
the east or south-east. Chase street would cut off 
a small portion of the south-west corner, and Biddle 
street a small corner from the north-east section. 
Were all these streets cut through, about one-half 
the grave-yard would be destroyed. Last fall the 
City Council passed an Ordinance to condemn the 
grave-yard, in order to allow the extension of 
Broadway, but on the complaint of some of the 
lot-holders, and a statement from the latter that the 
city had no authority to condemn the property, on 
account of the lot-holders holding the lots in fee- 
simple, and the grave-yard being established prior 
to the preparation of Poppleton's Map of the city, 
the City Council, on the next day after its passage, 
reconsidered the Ordinance and repealed it. 

A legal suit, which is still pending in the Circuit 
Court, was brought November, 1873, by George P. 
Kane, James M. Anderson, James Mahool and 
William Hanna, against the Trustees of the Second 
Church, for the purpose of removing said trustees 
from their trust, and to have other trustees ap- 
pointed in their stead; and to enjoin and restrain 
them from all attempts to sell or lease said ceme- 
tery, or any portion thereof, for other than ceme- 
tery purposes. 



The Glendy Grave- \ T ard. 8s 

An answer was filed by the defendants, denying 
all the allegations of the bill. Wm. H. Norris, E. 
J. D. Cross and A. C. Trippe were counsel for the 
complainants, and Sebastian Brown and Robert H. 
Smith for the trustees. 



A compromise of the difficulty has been arranged, 
since the foregoing was written and in press, to the 
effect that the existing trust be vacated, and that 
the property be transferred to "The Presbyterian 
Association of Baltimore," upon the guarantee that 
such sum of money as shall be awarded as damages 
for the opening of Broadway and Biddle street, and 
cutting off the projecting corner at the intersection 
of Chase street and the Belair road, shall be appro- 
priated to the transferring of the remains of the 
deceased. 

Should there be any excess of moneys beyond 
what may be needed for these purposes, it is sug- 
gested that they be applied to the erection of a 
chapel on the premises. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE BROWN FAMILY, 



ALEXANDER BROWN. 

HE subject of this sketch was born in the 
North of Ireland, in 1764. He married at 
^ ' Ballymena, Ireland, and came to Baltimore 
in 1800. The first business he engaged in, in 
Baltimore, was the importing and selling of Irish 
linens. 

In 1 8 10, his eldest son, William, went to Liver- 
pool, and there established, with his son James, the 
firm of William & James Brown & Co., which sub- 
sequently became Brown, Shipley & Co. A branch 
of the latter was afterwards established in London. 

William Brown died in Liverpool, in 1864, pos- 
sessed of great wealth. He had, for many years, 
represented the county of Lancashire, in the British 
Parliament, and was created a Baronet in 1862. 
He endowed to the City of Liverpool a Free Public 
Library. 



Dea th - Roll Contin iced. 



8? 



In 181 1, the firm of Alexander Brown & Sons 
was established in Baltimore. 

In 1 81 8, John A. Brown established a branch 
house in Philadelphia, under the name of John A. 
Brown & Co. 

In 1825, James Brown founded in New York the 
house of Brown Brothers & Co. 

The business in New York and Philadelphia is 
now conducted under the latter style. 

Alexander Brown died in 1834, of pneumonia. 

GEORGE BROWN, 

The second son of Alexander Brown, was born at 
Ballymena, Ireland, in 1787, and came to America 
in 1802. He was remarkable for his sterling integ- 
rity, prudence, and quick business perception. 

He became President of the Mechanics' Bank in 
1827. He was the principal founder of the Mer- 
chants' Bank, and, for some time, its President. 

His Christian benevolence was displayed in the 
material support he extended to the House of 
Refuge, and the aid and time he expended in the 
capacity of first President of the Baltimore Associ- 
ation for the Improvement of the Condition of the 
Poor. 



Dea th - Roll Con tin ucd. 



Mr. George Brown was, from the first, amone 
the most efficient and zealous friends and founders 
of that great work, the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road. The first meeting of those who projected 
the enterprise was held in his parlor. 

He died in 1859. He made no specifications in 
his will in regard to benevolent or religious institu- 
tions, beinor satisfied that his widow would be a 

o 

faithful almoner of his fortune in behalf of Chris- 
tian works and charity. 

And the manner in which she executed her trust 
in charitable bequests, in liberal gifts to benevolent 
institutions, and to the church, evidences that he 
had no need of making particular devises in favor 
of such objects. 

GEORGE S. BROWN. 

The house of Alexander Brown & Sons is com- 
posed at present of George S. Brown, William H. 
Graham, son and son-in-law of Mr. George Brown, 
and Wm. Graham Bowdoin, nephew of William H. 
Graham. 

Geo. S. Brown displays that same business instinct, 
enterprise and benevolence which characterized his 
father; qualities, in fact, which may be said to be 



Death- Roll Continued. 



89 



the attributes of the entire Brown family; for cer- 
tainly there is none other, tracing them back 
through the three generations, including Alexander, 
his sons and his grand-sons, who have been more 
distinguished for legitimate enterprise, business 
promptness, integrity, and Christian philanthropy, 
than that of the Presbyterian Browns. For three- 
quarters of a century they have been identified with 
the material progress and the ennobling institutions 
of our city; conducting a business whose ramifica- 
tions extend to the great commercial centres of the 
world, and ever lending a helping hand to the pro- 
motion of Christianity and all good works. 

STEWART BROWN, 

Who is buried in Westminster, was a brother of 
Alexander Brown. 

Mr. Stewart Brown was, for many years, a lead- 
ing officer of the First Church, he having been 
elected a member of " Committee" in 1807. 

James Brown, now in the 85th year of his age, 

son of Alexander Brown, and brother of the late 

George Brown, is the present head of the house of 

« 

Brown Brothers & Co., of New York. The other 
members of the firm are: Stewart Brown, Jr., and 



9 o 



Dea tJi - Roll Con tin ued. 



James M. Brown, sons of the late Stewart Brown, 
and brothers of John N. and J. Harman Brown, the 
latter being the present Register of Wills of Balti- 
more City. 

DR. GEORGE BROWN, 

One of the founders and fathers of the First Church, 
and Alexander Brown, married sisters, Rose and 
Grace Davison; all these were of Ballymena, Ire- 
land. Dr. George Brown's eldest son, George J. 
Brown, married Esther, only child of Rev. Patrick 
Allison, D. D., first Pastor of the First Church. 

The honored Judge of the Baltimore City Court 
(who is Chief Judge of the Supreme Bench,) Geo. 
William Brown, is their son. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



THE SMITH EAMILY. 




trating in their history that "Peace hath its victories 
as well as War," we see the Smiths almost wholly 
devoting themselves to public affairs, both civil and 
military. 

JOHN SMITH 

Was a native of Strabone, Ireland, and came here 
in 1759, establishing himself as a merchant, under 
the firm of Smith & Buchanan. The old wharf 
they built still retains their name. In 1776, Mr. 
Smith was elected a Representative to the Conven- 
tion which was held for the purpose of forming a 
State Constitution. In 1781, elected to the State 
Senate, and re-elected to same in 1786. He died 
9th of January, 1794. 



9 2 



Death- Roll Continued. 



His father was Samuel Smith, who emigrated 
from Ireland in 1728, and died in 1784, at the age 
of 91 years. 

ROBERT SMITH, 

Son of John Smith, was born in 1758. In 1788 he 
was chosen one of the Electors of President and Vice- 
President of the United States. In 1793, elected to 
the Senate of Maryland. In 1796, elected to House 
of Delegates. In 1801, appointed Secretary of the 
Navy. In 1805, held position as Attorney-General 
of the United States, returning same year to the 
Navy Department. In 1806, appointed Chancellor 
of the State of Maryland, and Chief Judge of the 
District of Baltimore, which he declined. In 181 3, 
elected Provost of the University of Maryland. 
Chosen President of the Bible Society same year. 
In 1 8 18, elected President of the Maryland Agricul- 
tural Society, which was formed that year. 

Robert Smith died in 1842, in the 84th year of 
his age. 

GENERAL SAMUEL SMITH, 

Brother of Robert Smith, was born in Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania, 29th July, 1752. He received a com- 
mercial education. Went to Havre, France, in 



Death-Roll Continued. 



93 



1772, as supercargo of one of his father's vessels. 
On returning, obtained a Captain's commission in 
CoL Smallwood's Division. He soon became con- 
spicuous for his great intrepidity and military talent. 
Was promoted to the rank of Major, and, in 1777, 
to that of Lieut. Colonel. Served at the Battles of 
Brandywine and Fort Mifflin. For distinguished 
conduct at Fort Mifflin he received the thanks of 
Congress and a sword. He attained the grade of 
Brigadier-General, and, in an eminent degree, en- 
joyed the confidence of Washington. At the close 
of the Revolutionary war he was appointed a Brig- 
adier-General of the Maryland Militia, and com- 
manded the quota of Maryland troops, engaged in 
suppressing the Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsyl- 
vania. He then entered mercantile life and became 
an eminent and prosperous merchant. In 1796, he 
built a magnificent mansion on what is now known 
as Exchange Place. 

In the war of 181 2 he served as Major-General, 
and was entrusted with the general command of the 
forces called out for the defence of Baltimore. 

He was repeatedly elected to Congress, and was 
a member of the Senate from 1803 to 181 5; and 
from 1822 to 1833, thus serving in that honorable 
13 



94 



Death- Roll Continued . 



position for the long period of twenty-three years. 
He headed the citizens to suppress the riots of i 835, 
and was, the same year, elected Mayor of Baltimore, 
in which office he died, April 2 2d, 1839, aged 87 
years. 

GENERAL JOHN SPEAR SMITH, 

Who died in 1866, was the son of General Samuel 
Smith, He acted as volunteer Aid-de-Camp to his 
father in the defence of Baltimore. 

He was appointed Secretary of the United States' 
Legation at London, and Charge d 9 Affaires, when 
Mr. Pinkney left that Court, 

In 1844, on the formation of the Maryland His- 
torical Society, he was elected its President. He 
held the position for twenty-two consecutive years. 

SAMUEL W. SMITH, 

Son of Robert Smith, was born at "Bloomfield," his 
father's country seat, near Baltimore, August 14th, 
1800. He was educated at Princeton. Unlike his 
illustrious relations, he has eschewed public life, 
with the exception of a brief period in the City 
Council. For a long time he held the position of 
President of the Baltimore Club, and afterward, for 
many years the Presidency of the Maryland Club. 



Death-Roil Continued. 



95 



Mr. Smith is the oldest stockholder Director in 
the B. & O. R. R. Co. He is Trustee of the Pea- 
body Institute and of the Washington University. 

He is a gentleman of ample fortune, and, in the 
dignity of private life, dispenses, in his noble man- 
sion on Park Street, his elegant hospitalities in a 
manner that characterized the Maryland gentlemen 
of the ancient regime. 

JOHN HOLLINS, 

To whom we have referred, as being buried in 
Westminster, married a sister of General Samuel 
Smith. Another sister married first, George Ste- 
venson, (merchant,) secondly, Peter Carr, of Vir- 
ginia, who was a nephew of Thomas Jefferson, The 
children of the second marriage were Dabney S. 
Carr, who succeeded Commodore David Porter as 
U. S. Minister at the Sublime Porte, and died in 
1854; Ellen Carr, who married Wm. B. Buchanan, 
a gentleman of fine literary attainments and poetic 
ability; and Jane M. Carr, who married Wilson 
M. Cary, ex-member of the State Assembly, and 
Proprietor of the "Southern Home School." Wil- 
son C. N. Carr, the present Assistant State's Attor- 
ney, is a son of the late Hon. Dabney S. Carr. 



96 



Death-Roll Continued . 



WILLIAM BUCHANAN, 

Was from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was Com- 
missary General of the Maryland forces in the 
Revolutionary War. His son was James A. Buch- 
anan, (of Smith & Buchanan), who was the father 
of Robert Smith Buchanan, and grandfather of 
James A. Buchanan, a prominent member of the 
Baltimore Bar. 

James A. Buchanan, the elder, married a 
daughter of James Calhoun, first Mayor. Four 
generations of the Buchanans are buried in West- 
minster. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE STERRETS, GITTINGS, BUCHANANS, GIL 
MORS AND L? DONNELLS. 



| t |fgHOMAS GITTINGS, the great grandfather 
jgfejjg of John S. Gittings, came to Maryland in 
1684. Dying, he demised his estate in 
Long Green Valley to his son James. 

James married a daughter of Dr. George Bu- 
chanan, one of the founders of Baltimore. The 
wife of Dr. George Buchanan was Eleanor Rogers. 

. Dr. Buchanan was the father of General Andrew 
Buchanan, an officer during the Revolution, and 
one of the "Committee of Safety;" also of William 
Buchanan, one of the first Registers of Wills of 
Baltimore County, and grandfather of James M. 
Buchanan, Ex-Minister to Copenhagen, and great 
grandfather of Admiral Franklin Buchanan. 

James Gittings, Jr., the father of John S. Git- 
tings, married Harriet, daughter of John Sterret, 
whom we have alluded to as being buried in 



98 



Death- Roll Continued. 



" Westminster." John Sterret's wife was Deborah 
Ridgely, eldest daughter of the original proprietor 
of Hampton, Baltimore County. 

John Ridgely married a daughter of Col. Edward 
Dorsey, of Elkridge. 

James Gittings, Jr. and John Sterret were zealous 
and active patriots during the Revolutionary war. 

THE GILMORS. 

The Gilmors are mostly buried in Westminster. 
Robert Gilmor was born in Paisley, Scotland, ioth 
of November, 1748. He married a daughter of 
Rev. Thomas Airey, Dorchester County. During 
the Revolutionary war he served in the Militia of 
St. Mary's County. He located in Baltimore, in 
1778, where he established the shipping house of 
Robert Gilmor & Co. He may be regarded as the 
founder of the East India trade in this country. In 
1 799 he associated his two sons, Robert and Wil- 
liam with him in business, under the style of Robert 
Gilmor & Sons. He was one of the originators of 
the Bank of Baltimore. He was President of the 
Second Branch of the first City Council, elected 
after Baltimore became a City, in 1797; and was 
President of the first Chamber of Commerce. He 



Dea th - Roll Con tin tied. 



99 



died in 1822. His son Robert, who died in 1849, 
and his grandson Robert, who died 3rd of February, 
1875, are buried in Westminster. 

JOHN O'DONNELL, 

Who is buried in Westminster, was the father of the 
late Columbus O'DonnelL He was a captain in the 
East India merchant service, He came to the 
United States and settled in Baltimore in 1780. 
He subsequently commanded the ship Palestine, 
which traded between this Port and Bombay, and 
brought the first cargo which came to Baltimore 
from Canton, (China), it arriving here August, 1785. 
The Indian goods realized a handsome sum in the 
town. He owned the tract of land called Canton, 
which name was given to it in commemoration of 
the above mentioned venture. Captain O'Donnell 
was a man of considerable note in his day. He 
died in 1805, when Columbus was 8 years of age. 

WM. PATTERSON. 

Buried in Westminster, was one of the Merchant 
Princes of Baltimore. He was born in 1752, in 
Ireland. He landed in Philadelphia when he was 
14 years of age. He transacted business as a 



IOO 



Death- Roll Continued. 



shipping merchant, under four different Govern- 
ments, viz: British, at Philadelphia, before the Revo- 
lution; the Dutch, at St. Eustatia; the French, at 
Martinique, and the American, at Baltimore. He 
came to Baltimore in 1798. 

Wm. Patterson's daughter, Elizabeth, married 
Jerome Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon the First, 
and King of Westphalia. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE PUR FIANCES. 



AMUEL PURVIANCE, Jr., was a native of 
the county of Donegal, Ireland, and came to 
this country about 1754. He resided in 
Philadelphia until 1768, when he removed to Balti- 
more. His brother, Robert Purviance, established 
a commercial house in Baltimore, in 1763, of which 
Samuel was a partner. Mr. Samuel Purviance pos- 
sessed a bold and decided character. He was 
among the foremost in opposition to the Stamp 
Tax. He was Chairman of the Committee of the 
Colonies to oppose that measure, continuing in such 
capacity during the existence of the Committee. 
He lost his life on the Ohio river, in 1788, being 
captured and killed by a band of Indians. He was 
an uncle of the late Judge John Purviance. 



102 



Death- Roll Continued. 



ROBERT PURVIANCE, 

Was the brother of Samuel. On the adoption of 
the Constitution of the United States, when the 
new Government went into operation, General 
Washington appointed Mr. Purviance the Naval 
Officer of the Port of Baltimore, and on the death 
of General Otho H. Williams, who had been at 
the same time made Collector, Mr. Purviance was 
appointed to the vacant post (1794) by General 
Washington. That office he held until his death, 
October, 1806. The grandfather of Samuel & 
Robert Purviance was a Huguenot, driven from 
France, with his family, in 1685, taking refuge in 
Ireland, (at the revocation of the edict of Nantz.) 



JOHN PURVIANCE, 

Son of Robert Purviance, was born in Baltimore, 
in 1773. He graduated at Dickinson College, Pa., 
and studied Law in the office of Robert Smith. 
He was admitted to the Bar in 1793. He was a 
very distinguished commercial lawyer. In 1833 he 
was appointed Judge of the Sixth Judicial District 
of Maryland. He left the Bench in 1 85 1 , when 



Death-Roil Continued. 



103 



the judges were elected by the people, under the 
new Constitution of that date. Judge Purviance 
died in 1854, in the 81st year of his age. There 
never was a Judge who was held in higher esti- 
mation by his judicial brethren and the Bar gene- 
rally than John Purviance. 

Judge Purviance's wife died about six years 
before the Judge, (on 10th April, 1848.) She was 
a woman of perfect Christian character and piety, 
ever charitable, and always indulging in "the luxury 
of doing good" to her fellow mortals. These were 
the parents of Miss Margaret Purviance, whose 
whole life seems to be devoted to Christian charities 
and benevolence. 

Robert Purviance, Jr. was the author of "Remin- 
iscences of Baltimore during the Revolution." 

COMMODORE HUGH Y. PURVIANCE, 

Who is still living, is the grandson of Robert Pur- 
viance, Jr. He has been in the U. S. Naval service 
fifty-seven years. 

Rev. James Purviance, who died in 1871, was a 
brother of the Commodore. He was, at one time, 
President of the Oakland College, Mississippi. 



104 



Death-Roll Continued. 



James Purviance, father of Hugh Y. and James, 
was a prominent merchant. He died in 1836. 

General Adam E. King, a gallant officer of the 
Federal service during our civil war, married the 
daughter of Commodore Purviance. General King 
served in the Army of the Republic, mostly in the 
6th Army Corps. He was for some time Adjutant- 
General on the Staff of Major General Hancock. 
He is the present Naval Officer of the Port of 
Baltimore, 



EDGAR ALLAN POE, 

Born January 20th, 1809; Died October 7th, 1849. 

"He loved all shadowy spots, and seasons drear j 

All ways of darkness lured his ghastly whim; 

Strange fellowships he held with goblins grim, 
At whose demoniac eyes he felt no fear. 
On midnights through dense branches he would peer, 

To watch the pale ghoul feed, by tombstones dim ; 
The appalling forms of phantoms walked with him, 
And murder breathed its red guilt in his ear! 
By desolate paths of dream, where fancy's owl 

Sent long lugubrious hoots through sober air, 
Amid thought's gloomiest caves he went to prowl, 

And met delirium in her awful lair, 
And mingled with cold shapes that writhe or scowl — 

Serpents of horror, black bats of despair ! " 



Death-Roil Continued. io§ 



That extraordinary man, Edgar Allan Poe, is 
buried in Westminster. It would be an insult to 
the intelligence of our readers to tell who or what 
Poe was, either in so far as his talents and weird 
imagination, or his private life were concerned. 
Over the latter let the veil of charity, be drawn. 
"Judge not that ye be not judged." 

Future generations will visit the grave of Poe, 
and whilst they may shed a silent tear over human 
frailty, and the poet's untimely death, they will pay 
the tributes of their profound admiration to that 
transcendant genius that gleamed athwart the intel- 
lectual heavens, and will live in the memory of 
appreciative minds for ages after the mortal part of 
Poe has resolved itself into its original elements, 
and all his foibles are forgotten. 

The massive monument erected over the Poet's 
remains, October ist, 1875, * s a noble testimonial to 
the author of the "Raven," from the children of the 
Public Schools of Baltimore. 

WM. W. TAYLOR, 

At one time a prominent member, and an Elder of 
the First Presbyterian Church, was buried in West- 
minster. 



io6 Death-Roil Continued. 



Mr. Taylor was a successful merchant, and Presi- 
dent of the Commercial and Farmers' Bank. The 
descendants of Mr. Taylor are Mrs. Dr. William 
Wilmot Hall, Mrs. Ed. M. Greenway, Mrs. John 
C. Moale, Mrs. Edmund M. Didier, Mr. Robert A. 
Taylor and Wm. M. Taylor. He died in 1832. 
His grandson, E. M. Greenway, Jr., married, in 
1847, the grand-daughter of Alexander Brown, and 
daughter of the late George Brown. 

Another grandson of William W. Taylor is now 
President of the National Union Bank. 

THE WILLIAMS VAULT, 

Is the base of the steeple of Westminster Church. 
In it are buried many members of the Williams 
family. Joseph, Benjamin and Samuel Williams 
were brothers. Benjamin was the father of the 
present Mrs. Susan Bonaparte, and uncle of Mrs. 
Rev. Burnap. 

George and Amos Williams were the pioneer 
cotton manufacturers of Maryland. They origi- 
nated the Savage Cotton Factory, called after John 
Savage, of Philadelphia. 

George H. Williams, the lawyer, and J. Savage 
Williams, are sons of George Williams. 



Death- Roll Continued. 



Prior to the establishment of the cotton factory, 
Mr. George Williams was an extensive shipping 
merchant, in connection with Benjamin Williams. 

THE DIDIERS. 

Henry Didier was born in France, 1747. He 
came to America, 1775. He died in 1822. His son 
Henry Didier, Jr., was of the well known firm of 
D'Arcy & Didier. He amassed a large fortune 
during the war of 181 2, in privateering with the 
famous Baltimore Clippers. Dr. Franklin J. Didier, 
son of the latter, born 1794, graduated at St. Mary's 
College, in the 16th year of his age. He graduated 
in Medicine at the University of Maryland, when 21 
years old. Whilst a medical student he served as 
surgeon at Fort McHenry, during the British bom- 
bardment, in 1 814. The doctor's surviving sons 
are Rev. Edmund Didier, and Eugene Lemoine 
Didier, a well known and popular writer for the 
Press. Edmund Didier, son of Henry Didier, Sr., 
was long engaged in the South American and Mexi- 
can trade, and occupied for several years the Presi- 
dency of the Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Co. 
of Baltimore, in which position he died, 1854. His 
son, Henry A. Didier, is a prominent insurance 
agent. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES. 



THE FRANKLIN STREET CHURCH. 

^| j|H E Franklin Street Presbyterian Congrega- 
tion was incorporated April 3rd, 1844. The 
m ' church edifice, N. W. corner of Franklin 
and Cathedral streets, was dedicated to the service 
of Almighty God on the 22nd of February, 1847, 
and three days after a committee of the Presbytery 
of Baltimore formally organized the new church. 
The Rev. Wm. S. Plumer, D. IX, of Richmond, 
Virginia, was the first pastor called, 10th of March, 
1847. 

Dr. Plumer resigned his pastoral charge in July, 
* 1 854, and was succeeded by Rev. N. C. Burt, D. D., 
of Springfield, Ohio, who was installed 18th of 
July, 1855. During his pastorate the Manse was 
erected, and was occupied by him in 1859. Dr. 
Burt resigned, October, i860, and on the 8th of 
April, 1 861, Rev. J. J. Bullock, D. D., of Kentucky, 
15 



no 



Presb) 'terian Ch u rch es . 



was unanimously elected pastor. He was installed 
the ensuing- July. 

In June, 1869, at the unanimous request of the 
congregation, the Session invited Rev. W. U. 
Murkland, of Virginia, to become assistant pastor, 
and on the 1st of January, 1870, he entered upon 
his labors. In March, 1870, Dr. Bullock resigned 
his pastoral charge, whereupon Rev. Mr. Murkland 
received a unanimous call to succeed him, which he 
accepted, and on the 4th of June, same year, he was 
installed. He is the present pastor. 

Franklin Street Church cong-reo-ation severed 
their ecclesiastical connection with the Presbytery 
of Baltimore, June, 1866, and became attached to 
the Presbytery of the Patapsco. The latter Pres- 
bytery was subsequently united with the Presbytery 
of the Rappahannock, to form the Presbytery of 
the Chesapeake, in which relation the church 
remains. 

The officers of the church are: Rev. W. Urwick 
Murkland, Pastor; Ruling Elders — Wm, Fell Giles, 
J. Harman Brown, Wm. Davison, Joseph E. Trippe, 
Sr., Henry C. Kirk, John A. Inglis, Isaac D. Jones, 
James M. Coulter, Edward Snowden, William H. 
Stevenson, L. Charles Inglis and James A. Houston. 



Presbyterian Churches. 



in 



THE FIFTH CHURCH 

Was organized in 1833. Its founder was Rev. John 
G. Hamner, D. D., who came to Baltimore that 
year. Dr. Hamner started the church without 
assistance from any other churches, and served as 
its pastor for several years. He was succeeded 
by Rev. Mr. Washburne. The pulpit was occupied 
by several pastors, until the church building on 
Hanover, near Lombard street, (erected in 1836,) 
was sold to the Hebrews, in 1858. It is now used 
as a synagogue. 

THE GREENE STREET CHURCH, 

Is an offshoot from the Fifth Church. Sixty-six 
communicants from the latter met at the residence 
of the late Capt. Joel Vickers, on January 6th, 1854, 
and were regularly organized into a church, under 
the name of the First Constitutional Presbyterian 
Church. They secured the lot on the corner of 
German and Greene streets, and erected the 
present church edifice. 

The first pastor, (September, 1854), was Rev. 
Halsey Dunning, of Richmond, Va. He resigned 



ii2 Presbyterian Churches. 

November, 1868, and was succeeded by Rev. S. D. 
Noyes, January, 1869. Rev. Mr. Noyes remained 
pastor until May, 1873, when he resigned to accept 
the pastorship of the Aisquith Street Church. 

At the time of the re-union of the two branches 
of the Presbyterian Church, this church became 
connected with the Presbytery of Baltimore, and 
took the name of "Greene Street Presbyterian 
Church." The congregation sold its property, 
(corner Greene and German streets), January, 1875, 
with the view of erecting- a church edifice on 
Lafayette Square. 

The balance of the congregation of the Fifth 
Church, after the withdrawal of those who estab- 
lished the "Greene Street Church," went to the 
Central Church. 

The Dolphin Street Church has recently been 
united with the Greene Street Church, under 
the name of the Lafayette Square Church. The 
ruling elders, at the time of the organization 
of the Greene Street Church, were William S. 
Hopkins, Wm. G.' Knowles, M. D., Daniel Miller 
and Henry C. Kirk. The pastorate is vacant. 
The present ruling elder is J. Faris Moore, M. D. 



Presbyterian Churches, 



THE A IS QUI TH STREET CHURCH, 

Colonized from the First and Second Churches, and 
was organized in 1844. The first pastor was Rev. 
R. W. Dunlap. A succession of pastors have 
occupied the pulpit. The predecessor of the 
present pastor was Rev. James S. Ramsay. 

The Rev. S. D. Noyes assumed the pastorate 
of this church in 1873. The officers are Rev. 
Stephen D. Noyes, Pastor; Elders — M. Hyde, R. 
F. Pentland, R. Kinnear, W. A. Brown, M. J. 
Brown, R. Fowler and James Hopkins. 

THE BROADWAY CHURCH, 

Was organized in 1845. ^ went out from the 
Second Church. The first pastor was Rev. Thomas 
E. Peck, who served until about 1852. Rev. F. W. 
Brauns, Rev. H. L. Singleton, and several other 
pastors have occupied the pulpit. The present 
pastor, Rev. John L. Fulton, has been eminently 
useful in the ministry. 

The officers of the church are Rev. John L. 
Fulton, D. D., Pastor; Elders — S. M. Johnson, M. 
C. Thompson, James Binney and M. W. C. 
Thompson. 



Pi rsby 'term n Ch u rch cs . 



TWELFTH CHURCH. 

The Twelfth Church arose principally from the 
Third Church, Dr. George W. Musgrave, on Eutaw, 
near Saratoga street. 

It was organized May 18th, 1854. Prof. D. A. 
Hollinorshead and E. R. Horner were the first 
elders, which relation to the church they have held 
up to the present time. 

The church edifice is on Franklin, near Fremont 
street. The Rev. C. B. McKee performed the first 
ministerial functions, serving about two years. The 
pulpit was variously supplied until the election of 
Rev. James E. Hughes, Nov. 26th, 1855. Dr. 
Hughes resigned in December of 1858, and was 
succeeded by the Rev. Wm. R. Marshall, March 
25th, 1859. He resigned January, 1865. His suc- 
cessor, the same year, was Rev. James M. Maxwell, 
who resigned September, 1874. 

The present pastor is Rev. Alexander M. Jelly, 
who was installed 5th January, 1875. 

The Elders are Prof. D. A. Hollingshead, E. R. 
Horner and Lewis C. Brewster. Prof. Hollings- 
head has been the Superintendent of the Sunday 
School ever since its establishment, which was some 
two years prior to the organization of the church. 



Presbyterian Churches. 



THE FRANKLIN SQUARE CHURCH. 

Was originally the "Fourth Church," which occupied 
for several years the Winans' Chapel, on West Bal- 
timore street. The first pastor was the late Rev. 
James Purviance. He was succeeded by the Rev. 
J. A. Lefevre, in 1856. 

In 1862 the present beautiful Church edifice, on 
Franklin Square, was ready for occupancy, and then, 
for the first time, the church was regularly incor- 
porated under the name of the "Franklin Square 
Church." 

The Rev. Dr. Lefevre has been in the pastorate 
nineteen years, which makes him rank next, in 
length of ministerial service (Presbyterian), to Dr. 
John C. Backus. 

The officers of the Franklin Square Church are 
Rev. J. A. Lefevre, D. D., Pastor; Ruling Elders — 
Thomas Dixon, G. M. Anderson, Albert Nicolassen, 
John Patterson, Gustavus Ober and J. A. Stewart. 
Deacons— J. H. Meixell, J. F. Arthur, W. L. Hill, J. 
M. Stockdale, C. C. Wright. 

The above church is connected with the Pres- 
bytery of the Chesapeake. 




The Central Church, 

CORNER SARATOGA AND LIBERTY STREETS. 

Consumed by fire 25th Jul)', 1873. 



Presbyterian Churches. 



117 



THE CENTRAL CHURCH. 

The Central Church was originated by Rev. 
Stuart Robinson. It was organized 13th April, 
1853, Dr. Robinson being unanimously elected its 
first pastor. 

The congregation worshipped in the New As- 
sembly Rooms, on Hanover street, until the com- 
pletion of the church edifice, on the corner of 
Liberty and Saratoga streets, in the spring of 1855; 
the latter was opened for Divine service, 15th 
April, 1855. 

In 1856 Dr. Robinson resigned the pastorate to 
accept a professorship in the Danville Seminary, 
Kentucky. After a vacancy of two years, Rev. 
Thomas E. Peck was elected to the pastorate, 
(January, 1858.) In March, i860, Dr. Peck re- 
signed, and was succeeded, the ensuing October, 
by Rev. Silas G. Dunlap, who resigned in the Fall 
of 1 861, on account of protracted illness. 

The present esteemed pastor of the church, Rev. 
Dr. Joseph T. Smith, entered upon his ministerial 
duties on the first Sabbath of January, 1862. Dr, 
Smith was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in 
1818, graduated at Jefferson College, 1837, licensed 
16 



uS 



Presby 'terian Ch urch cs , 



by Presbytery of Erie, 1841, installed pastor of 
First Church of Mercer, 1842, became pastor of 
Second Church, Baltimore, 1849. 

The structure on corner Saratoga and Liberty 
streets was destroyed in the great conflagration of 
25th July, 1873. The congregation are erecting a 
handsome church edifice on Eutaw Square, near 
Dolphin street, 

The officers of the church are: Rev, Joseph T. 
Smith, D, D,, Pastor; Elders — Dr. James Mclntyre, 
Wm. Boggs, James Warden, E. C. Small and Wm. 
H. Cole, 




Brown Memorial Church. 



A Tablet, inserted in the wall, in the rear of the Pulpit, 
bears the following inscription : 

THIS CHURCH 

HAS BEEN ERECTED 

IN MEMORY OF 

MY HUSBAND, 

GEORGE BROWN, 

WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE 

AUG. 26™ ^59. 



187O. 



120 



Presbyterian Churches. 



THE BROWN MEMORIAL CHURCH. 

Mrs. Isabella Brown, widow of George Brown, 
at her own private cost, erected the elegant " Brown 
Memorial Church," corner of Park avenue and 
Townsend street, as a tribute to the memory of 
her departed husband. Solicitous to apply her 
money in such manner as would accomplish the 
greatest good to the cause of Christianity and 
benevolence, Mrs. Brown sought the advice of Dr. 
Backus, who suggested to her that the building of a 
church in the above section of the city would be 
prolific of greater service to humanity than any 
other disposition that could be made of an equiva- 
lent sum of money, for a church would grow and 
expand — would extend its moral influences through 
numberless channels, in its congregational char- 
acter, its missionary labors, &c, and would, there- 
fore, be the best and noblest testimony to the 
memory of her husband. The dedicatory cere- 
monies in the new edifice were held on the first 
Sabbath (4th day) of December, 1870, the following 
gentlemen being charged with their arrangement: 
Alexander M. Carter, J. Frank Dix and William B. 
Canfield. 



Presbyterian Churches. 



121 



The morning ceremonies were opened by the 
singing of an anthem by the choir, "The Lord is 
my Strength," Psalm cxviii, 14th, 15 th, 16th and 
24th verses. Then followed an invocation, the 
singing of 2nd part of Psalm cxxxii, the reading 
of the Scriptures by Dr. Backus, and prayer by 
Rev. H. A. Boardman. An original Dedication 
hymn, composed by a lady of Philadelphia, was 
then sung, an eloquent sermon preached by Dr. 
Backus, and the ceremonies closed by prayer and 
benediction by Rev. J. S. Jones. 

The evening services were conducted by Rev. J. S. 
Jones, the Rev. Henry A. Boardman, D. D., of Phila- 
delphia, delivering the sermon. 

The Rev. J. S. Jones has been the pastor of the 
Brown Memorial Church since its organization. 
He was formerly the assistant of Dr. Backus, in 
the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Jones is one of 
the most eloquent and original pulpit orators in 
Baltimore. There is a peculiarity about his style 
and diction, and a certain boldness in his utterances, 
which are eminently characteristic. He is clear in 
his enunciations, and searching in his analysis of 
scriptural texts, placing those interpretations upon 
them that convince both the intellect and the heart 



122 



Presbyteria n C/i u rches . 



of their sublime truths, and their wonderful bearing 
upon the destinies of man. 

The Rev. J. S. Jones was born in Philadelphia, in 
1842. He graduated at the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, 1862, and at the Theological Seminary of 
Princeton, 1867, and came to Baltimore the same 
year. He was the assistant of Dr. Backus for three 
years. 

The orio-inal Trustees of the Brown Memorial 
Church (December 15th, 1870,) were Rev. John C. 
Backus, D. D., George S. Brown, William H. Gra- 
ham, Charles P. Woods, Alexander F. Murdoch, 
Thomas A. Symington, Warren C. Bevan, Thomas 

C. Basshor, Samuel S. Woolston, Robert T. McCay, 
O. F. Bresee and Rev. J. S. Jones. 

The present Trustees are James A. Gary, Henry 

D. Harvey, W r alter B. Brooks, J. N. Dubarry, W. C. 
Wilkins, Charles F. W r oods, Thomas C. Basshor, 
Robert T. McCay, J. L. Turnbull, D. F. Haynes, 
Thomas A. Symington and O. F. Bresee. 

The Elders are Alexander M. Carter, J. Frank 
Dix, Horace W. Robbins and John P. Ammidon. 

The Deacons are John K. Cowen, B. F. Smith 
and E. T. Lawrence. 

The Clerk of Session is Alexander M. Carter. 



Presbyteria n Ch arc h es. 



The cost of the beautiful church edifice was in 
the neighborhood of $150,000; certainly a munifi- 
cent gift to the cause of Christianity. 

The following is the Dedicatory Hymn, to which 
we have alluded. The second verse is eminent- 
ly appropriate, as expressive of the "faith and 
prayer" of the generous donor of such a fair and 
beautiful Temple to the service of Almighty God. 



1 Father, enthroned above, 
Hear us in gracious love, 

Accept our vows 5 
Holy and Sovereign Lord, 
Keep Thou the watch and ward, 
Be the perpetual Guard 

Of this Thy House. 

2 This Temple, pure and fair, 
One Spirit's faith and prayer. 

One heart alone. 
To Thy immortal praise, 
In holy trust doth raise ; 
O God of Truth and Grace, 

Make it Thine own. 



3 Thou, the Anointed One, 
God's own Eternal Son, 

Grant us Thine aid $ 
Here let Thy favor dwell ; 
Here may Thy praises swell, 
Saviour Immanuel, 

Be Thou our Head. 

4 Oh, Holy Comforter, 
Thy people, prone to err, 

Thy help implore ; 
Presence Divine, unseen, 
Breathe every heart within, 
Cleanse from all taint and sin, 

For evermore. 



5 Jehovah, Lord and King, 
Angels Thy glory sing 

Through endless days ; 
World without end, to Thee, 
To Thy great Majesty, 
Father, Son, Spirit, be 

Eternal praise ! 



124 



Presbyterian Churches. 



THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED CONGREGATION 
OF BALTIMORE. 

(dr. duncan's old church.) 

"The Associate Reformed Congregation of Bal- 
timore," associated together for the purpose of 
enjoying Divine service, in the year 1 797, and were 
supplied with preaching by the nearest Presbytery 
of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. 
In 1803, having increased in numbers, they deter- 
mined to build a church, and erected a place of 
worship at the corner of Pitt (now E. Fayette) and 
Aisquith streets, and appointed the Rev. Robert 
Annan their Pastor. They also adopted a Consti- 
tution, became incorporated, by complying with the 
provisions of the Act of Assembly of 1802, and 
assumed the title of "The Associate Reformed Con- 
gregation of Baltimore." The Rev. Dr. Annan 
continued the pastor until 181 1, when the Presby- 
tery of Philadelphia, (to which this Congregation 
was attached,) in the exercise of its powers under 
the Constitution and Laws of the Associate Re- 
formed Church, dissolved the connection, and 
declared the Congregation vacant. 

The Rev. John Mason Duncan was then elected 
pastor, and, in March, 181 2, put in possession of 
his functions by the Presbytery. 



Presbyterian Churches. 



The con prestation soon became too larg/e to be 
accommodated in the small edifice on Pitt street, 
and a new church was erected on Tammany (now 
West Fayette) street, between Charles and Liberty 
streets, in 1 813-14. The pews were sold in 181 5, 
and the congregation increased and prospered. 
They continued their connection with "The Asso- 
ciate Reformed Church in North America," until 
May, 1822, when a union took place between this 
Church and "The Presbyterian Church in the 
United States;" the Rev. Mr. Duncan and James 
Martin representing the Associate Reformed Con- 
gregation of Baltimore, and voting for the union. 

In 1825, the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia, 
to which Mr. Duncan was attached, was dissolved, 
and he applied to the Baltimore Presbytery to be 
admitted a member, which was denied him, because 
he was understood to disown and oppose the "Con- 
fession of Faith," and form of government of "the 
Presbyterian Church in the United States." The 
Baltimore Presbytery referred the subject to the 
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and 
by them it was remitted to the Synod, to be finally 
disposed of. Synod met 27th October, 1825, in Mr. 
Duncan's church. The Rev. Charles G. McLean 

17 



126 



Presbyterian Chare lies. 



was in the same case as Mr. Duncan, and they then 
both publicly withdrew "from all connection with 
the Presbyterian Church in the United States." On 
Tuesday, November ist, 1825, the pastoral connec- 
tion was dissolved, and the congregation declared 
vacant by the Synod, in consequence of Mr. Duncan 
withdrawing from, and declining the jurisdiction of, 
"the Presbyterian Church in the United States." 
The congregation however, generally adhered to 
him, and he continued to serve them as pastor, 
much respected and beloved. 

The following were the officers of the Church at 
that time: Trustees — Edward Palmer, Dr. James 
H. McCulloh, Wm. Heald, Thos. Parker, Jr., Joseph 
Cushing. Elders — John McFerran, Wm. Campbell, 
Archibald George, James Campbell, James Martin, 
Edward Palmer, Samuel Jones, Joseph Cushing. 

All the trustees, and four of the elders, viz: Ed- 
ward Palmer, Samuel Jones, Jas. Martin, and Joseph 
Cushing, united with Mr. Duncan, and kept posses- 
sion of the church. 

On the 19th January, 1827, petition was filed in 
Baltimore County Court, praying mandamus against 
John M. Duncan and the above mentioned elders, 
&c, requiring them to surrender the church property. 



Presbyterian Churches. 



127 



Attorneys for the Petitioners — Roger B. Taney, 
George Winchester, and Upton S. Heath. For the 
Trustees — William Wirt, Richard B. Maeruder, and 
Charles F. Mayer. Mandamus was refused by 
Judge Archer, and the church left in possession of 
the Trustees and congregation. The petitioners, 
or the most of them, retired from the church. 

James Campbell, Win. Campbell, Wm. Vance, and 
Jas. Heron were appointed the building committee, 
to erect the present church, in 1813. Mr. Heron 
declined to accept the individual responsibility 
required, and, after some delay, Wm. Morris, not 
a member of the church, nor of their sect, assumed 
it, and the church was finished early in 181 5. 

In the spring of 1849, Mr. Duncan was attacked 
with paralysis, whilst on a visit to his cousin, the 
Rev. Erskine Mason, of New York. On the 9th of 
April, same year, the congregation authorized the 
trustees to appoint an assistant pastor, and, on 1st 
June, the Rev. B. H. Nadal, of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, was appointed assistant pastor. 

February 18th, 1850, Mr. Nadal was re-elected, 
but the Methodist Conference, to which he belonged, 
having refused to permit him to continue, in May 
following the Rev. Mason Noble, of New York, was 
elected assistant pastor in his place. 



128 Presbyterian Churches. 

September 20th, 1850, Mr. Duncan, finding his 
health continuing to decline, tendered his resignation 
as pastor, after having served the congregation most 
faithfully from March, 181 2. On the 25th of same 
month the resignation was accepted with great reluc- 
tance, to take effect on 1st January, 1851, and an 
allowance of $1,500 per annum during his life unani- 
mously granted to him. The services of Mr. Noble, 
as assistant pastor, ceased at the termination of Mr. 
Duncan's duties. 

April 30th, 1 85 1, the Rev. John Mason Duncan 
died, in the 61st vear of his age. A handsome 
monument was erected to his memory by the con- 
gregation, in the church where he had so long served 
them. 

In 1852, after some temporary supplies, the Rev. 
Stuart Robinson, of the Presbyterian Church, of 
Frankfort, Kentucky, was called to the pastorate of 
the church, as "stated supply," and entered on his 
duties in September, same year. In March, 1853, 
he tendered" his resignation, and it was accepted. 

An arrangement was then made with the Rev. 
Thomas H. Stockton, to supply the pulpit until a 
permanent pastor could be procured, and he served 
them until 1st October, 1856. 



Presbyteriaii Church. 



129 



The Rev. Henry Otis Tiffany, of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, and, at that time, Professor at 
Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, was elected per- 
manent pastor on 14th October, 1856, and under 
his ministration the church prospered for some 
time. On the 29th August, i860, he resigned. 

The next pastor was the Rev. Fielder Israel, of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected 1 ith March, 
1 861, who served the congregation until the autumn 
of 1865. 

April 4th, 1866, the Rev. John Leyburn, D. D., of 
the Presbyterian Church, w T as elected pastor for one 
year; a resolution being first unanimously adopted 
by the congregation, "that the church continue its 
present independent organization." Dr. Leyburn 
was then invited to become the permanent pastor of 
the church, and accepted the call, and has continued 
to serve the congregation since that time. 

Present officers of the church: Rev. Dr. John 
Leyburn, Pastor. Elders — Francis Dawes, James 
Butler, William McKim, Thomas R. Crane, G. S. 
Griffith, Jr., Telfair Marriott, Thos. M. McCormick. 
Trustees — Francis Burns, William McKim, John W. 
Garrett, Wallace King, Wm. Wilson, Jr. 



Presbyterian Churches. 



THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 

(CORNER OF MADISON AVENUE AND BIDDLE STREET,) 

Was organized in 1826. The original church edi- 
fice, built 1828, was in Courtland street, between 
Saratoga and Pleasant streets. 

The first pastor (1828) was Rev. Archibald Whyte. 
He was succeeded (1838) by Rev. John G. Smart, 
who served as Pastor until 1850. The pulpit was 
variously supplied until April, 1855, when Rev. 
William Bruce, D. D., was ordained as pastor. He 
served until July,. 1873. 

There was then no stated supply until 1st July, 
1875, wnen Rev. William A. Edie was elected 
pastor. 

The pews of this church are free, and in the sim- 
plicity of its form of worship, and many other fea- 
tures, it assimilates the Covenanters or "Caledo- 
nian" Church. 

Officers. — Rev. William H. Edie, Pastor. Elder, 
Washington K. Carson. Trustees — W. W. Maugh- 
lin, W. K. Carson, Thomas D. Anderson, James 
Laughlin, John Stinson and Wm. McKay. 



Prcsbyteria n CJi urch es. 



REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN, OR CHURCH OF 
THE COVENANTERS, 

The plain church of the Covenanters stands at 
the junction of Aisquith street with Harford avenue. 
It was purchased by the congregation in 1833. The 
society of the Covenanters, (of Baltimore,) was 
organized in 1818, and chartered in 1821. The 
members are, almost exclusively, Scotch or North 
of Ireland people, or their descendants, • They are 
connected with the Philadelphia Presbytery. 

The Covenanters, in their church building, their 
mode of worship, &c, evince almost as character- 
istic simplicity as the Quakers or "Friends." The 
church is devoid of steeple, bell or organ. No 
instrumental music is tolerated, and only the Psalms 
of David are sung. 

The Pastor is Rev. John Lynn, a native of Ireland. 
The Elders are Henry Smith, Daniel J. Cummings, 
D. O. Brown, James Wright and M, H. Wright. 

LIGHT STREET CHURCH, 
The Light Street Church, formerly called the 

South Church, was organized in 1855. 

The first pastor was Rev. J. H. Kaufman, D. D. 
The present officers are: David J. Beale, Pastor. 

Elders- — Perry C. Orem, L. A. Merrill and W. 

Kirkpatrick. 



Presbyterian 



Churches. 



DOLPHIN STREET CHURCH 

Was, at first, a Mission of the First Church, It 
was organized in 1869. 

The first Pastor was Dr, S. H. Hi groins, who was 
succeeded by Rev, Dr. J, M. Wilson. 

This church has been consolidated with Greene 
Street Church in the formation of the "Lafayette 
Square Church," The pastorate is vacant. 

The Elders are Wm. L. Ritter and John Stidman. 

THE MADISON STREET {^COLORED) CHURCH. 

The above Church originally started as a Mission 
School in 1842. 

The first pastor, after its organization as a con- 
gregation, was Rev. John Watts. It met for seve- 
ral years in what was known as "Warfield Church," 
in the rear of City Spring, Calvert street. 

The present church structure was purchased of 
the Baptists in 1847. 

The officers of the church are: Charles Hedges, 
Pastor. Elders — John Plyman, Cornelius Butler 
and T. Gaskins. Deacons — William H. Scott and 
Christopher Perry. 



RESIGNATION OF REV. JOHN C. BACKUS, D. D., LL. D ., 

As Pastor of First Churchy and his Election as 
Pastor Emeritus. 



Since the early pages of this book went to press, 
an important event in the history of the First Church 
has transpired, — the resignation of the Rev. John C. 
Backus, D. D., of the holy office which he has, for 
so many years, acceptably and devotedly filled. 
Dr. Backus had, for some months, contemplated 
such action, and at the Chestnut Grove (Baltimore 
County) semi-annual meeting of the Baltimore Pres- 
bytery, held 6th October, 1875, gave notice of his 
intention to resign his charge, and asked that the 
congregation be cited. The request was granted, 
and Dr. Backus was appointed to issue the citation, 
which he did, from the pulpit of his church, on Sab- 
bath morning, 10th October, when he explained, at 
length, his reasons for resigning. 

The congregation met on the ensuing Monday, 
and reluctantly yielded to Dr. Backus' determina- 
tion to dissolve his pastoral connection. 

On October 18th, the Presbytery met in the lec- 
ture-room of the First Church, and after an inte- 
18 



*34 



Resignation of Dr. Backus. 



resting discussion as to the manner of relieving Dr. 
Backus of active pastorship, adopted, unanimously, 
the following resolution: 

"That the request of Rev, J. C. Backus be granted, 
in so far that he is henceforth released from the 
duties and responsibilities of the pastoral office, and 
that he shall hereafter sustain to the First Presbyte- 
rian Church of Baltimore the relation of Pastor 
Emeritus, it being- understood that a Pastor Emeri- 
tus is one who, for sufficient reasons, is honorably 
released from the active responsibilities and duties 
of the office in the church that he has been serving, 
while the title, rank and character are reserved to 
him." 

Dr. Backus read a paper, accepting the honorary 
title ; which was adopted by the Presbytery. 



Acknowledgements. 

We are under tribute to the venerated Pastor of the First Church, Rev. Dr. 
Backus, for valuable information in First Church history. 

We also acknowledge the kindness of George W. Howard, Esq., for the loan 
of the cuts of the old " Two Steeple Church," and the present First Church 
structure, which are among those that adorn .his profusely illustrated and valuable 
work, " The Monumental City." 



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